NBA Weekly Review – Mid Season Marks
The post all-star break kicks off in the BetUS Sportsbook on Tuesday night and this look back at the week that was prior to the annual highlight reel making contest, should give my beloved BetUS NBA sports betting fanatics a solid nudge in the right direction toward making a plethora of winning wagers over the season’s second half, beginning with Tuesday night’s full slate of NBA action.
Let’s get started with the winning all-star conference – the West.
The Los Angeles Lakers (42-10 SU) and San Antonio Spurs (35-16 SU) sit atop the Western Conference standings, but both lost their respective last contests before the break.
The third-place Nuggets (36-17 SU) have won two straight games before the break while the Blazers (32-20 SU) and Rockets (32-21 SU) are coming off a loss and win in their last contests.
New Orleans (30—20 SU) dropped two consecutive games before the break while Dallas and Utah round out the top eight coming off a loss and win in their respective last games.
The Phoenix Suns (28-23 SU) are just outside of playoff contention but fired head coach Terry Porter and will begin its second half with assistant Alvin Gentry taking over on an interim basis.
In the Eastern Conference, the defending-champion Boston Celtics (44-11 SU) won their last two pre-all-star break contests while the Cavaliers (40-11 SU) and Magic (38-13 SU) are coming off a loss and win in their respective last contests.
The Atlanta Hawks (31-21 SU) won two straight games before the break while Miami (28-24 SU) won their last pre-break game and the Philadelphia (27-24 SU) rode a league-best four-game win streak into the break.
Detroit (27-24 SU) and Milwaukee (26-29 SU) round out the top eight Eastern Conference teams heading in opposite directions coming off of three straight losses and two consecutive victories in their respective last games.
Analysis: In the west, the Lakers, even without young center Andrew Bynum, are clearly the cream of the crop and I just don’t see the second place Spurs, or any other Western Conference contender, stands a realistic chance of overtaking them for the Western Conference title.
In the Eastern Conference, I see absolutely nothing that makes me think the Boston Celtics are going to fail in their bid to win their second straight Eastern Conference crown, (though the Cavaliers will push them to the ultimate limit).
I love the Orlando Magic’s explosive offense, but the fact that they don’t play any defense will continue to bring their postseason to a quick end against either Cleveland or Boston.
The Hawks, Heat and improving Sixers are pretty solid teams and very entertaining, but clearly aren’t in the same class as the C’s or Cavaliers.
Pistons GM Joe Dumars ruined their season by getting rid of Chauncey Billups, while the Bucks are concrete pretenders.
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