NBA: UNDERDOGS OFFER OPENING NIGHT VALUE
The Boston Celtics and L.A. Lakers are home favorites but it’s the underdogs that should be garnering interest as the NBA opens the 2008-2009 season with a televised double-header on TNT.
The defending champion Celtics raise their newest banner to the rafters and then host the Cleveland Cavaliers as seven-point favorites starting at 8 pm ET. That game is followed by Western Conference champion Lakers hosting the Portland Trail Blazers are 7 ½-point favorites.
And while the home teams are getting the majority of the action for these two games, it’s the visiting teams that have been profitable in recent contests. Cleveland has covered eight of their last 10 matchups against Boston while Portland has covered nine straight against L.A.
We’ve got game lines and totals for Tuesday’s three opening night contests. Check out the Live Odds page for the latest odds and make sure you register for our Beat the House promotion. Every winning wager of $20 or more on NBA or NCAA hoops action earns you points towards weekly prizes and a Grand Prize at the end of the season.
Boston backers eager to put money on the defending champs should be advised to check the numbers heading into this game. The Celtics dropped the Cavaliers in seven games in the second round of the NBA Playoffs last season but three of Boston’s four wins in that series were by seven points or less with the Cavs covering six of seven times in the series.
The Cavaliers also covered three of four regular season matchups last year as they beat the Celtics twice in Cleveland and played them close in their two road losses.
The biggest change to these lineups over the offseason was the addition of point guard Mo Williams to the Cavs via a three-team trade. Williams, who averaged 17.2 points per game with the Milwaukee Bucks last season, gives Cleveland a nice scoring option on a team that relies heavily on LeBron James night after night.
Short of losing 6th man James Posey, not much has changed for the defending champs as they have basically the same lineup that downed the Lakers in six games to win last year’s championship.
In the late game, 86% of bettors favor the Lakers but the Trail Blazers have been the profitable team in recent years. The last time L.A. covered a game against Portland was on February 2nd, 2006 with the Trail Blazers taking the cash in the last nine contests.
The biggest change for the Lakers this year is a healthy Andrew Bynum. The 7’0” center played just 35 games last season before injuring his left knee and missing the entire playoffs. Bynum, who turned 21 on Monday, will start alongside the Lakers other 7’ star, Pau Gasol.
Lakers coach Phil Jackson had been upset with how the two played together during the preseason but said they will each start Tuesday’s opener.
The young Blazers unveil a 7’ star of their own as former Ohio State standout Greg Oden makes his much anticipated debut. The first overall pick of the 2007 NBA Draft, Oden missed last season with a right knee injury.
With Oden in the lineup, Portland backers expect an improvement on the 41-41 season from a year ago. And with a lineup that also boasts third-year players Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge, they could be a franchise on the rise and worth a look on Tuesday.
