Straight up, who is the best team in the NBA? Los Angeles Lakers!! But that does not mean you can simply stop reading here, as often or not the best team doesn't always win the comp. The best team in the East.. is the Cleveland Cavs from the Boston Celtics with daylight and then some to the Orlando Magic, with Miami Heat in at fourth if you twist my arm.
So why not just steam into the LA Lakers at the $3.10 at Betchoice.com? Why not just back a winner, as its not "Value"! Because if Cleveland Cavs finish with a better record then them, and they face each other in the NBA Championship Finals, then I think Cleveland will be a big big chance. Sure The Lakers beat the cavs on the 8th of Feb, to wreck the Cavs home winning streak. But I still think at home the Cavs are something special. Yes the Lakers got the win without Andrew Bynum and he should be back for the Finals (atleast the second round) but I am not sure really that he matters that much. Z Ilguaskas seemed to dominate the first half of that match, but the zen master Phil Jackson seemed to work him out and the Lakers offense for the second half to overcome the 10 point 1st half deficit. Simply put, the Lakers got to the NBA Championship last year without Andrew Bynum, I still think they can win it with him, as much as without him.
The other reason why I think the Lakers may NOT win the West let alone the NBA Championship is the San Antonio Spurs. For mine the Spurs are still a great Championship team and are built to beat the Lakers or most teams over a 7 game series. If the Spurs loose to the Hornets or Suns who I think are better built to beat the Spurs, before they face the Lakers, then the Lakers should steam roll the West. Really the Spurs with all their experience, great coach in Greg Popovich (knows when to hold'em, like against the Nuggets on 3rd of Feb) can over come the Kobe's Lakers and depth. When a player like Luke Walton struggles to get a start on teh Lakers team, it shows how deep they truly are. Props by the way to Spurs Roger Mason, the Wizards are looking very very stupid letting this bloke go!
Okay back to the East, I really really like the Cavs. Outside of their home record they have some beautiful outside shooters and LeBron got the Cavs to the Finals all by himself two years ago. Now with his improved supporting cast, I believe this is a team which can account for Celtics "no worries" and really challenge the Lakers. The big question against the Lakers is what the bench and co will do. Kobe and LeBron almost cancel each other out, so who knows what the rest will do. In their matchup on 8th of Feb, Lamar Odom had a huge game especially on the offensive boards, the box score sometimes does not show purely how influential he was, but trust me he really allowed Kobe to beat the Cavs. But I don't think you can get that every night from Odom and co.
Summary???
Alright, LA Lakers are the best team in the League. Cavs are best team in the East. Cavs will beat the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. Lakers should beat all in the West, but I would be really concerned if they faced the San Antonio Spurs, who can possibly beat them. I still think Phoenix Suns and a fully fit New Orleans Hornets can be dangerous.
Value bet has to be the Cleveland Cavs at $5.50 at Betchoice.com at the time of writing to win the National basketball Association Championship, with a saver on San Antonio Spurs for the Western Conference at $6.50 (much better elsewhere). If you want the winner though it's the LA Lakers, but the $3.10 (big price at Betchoice) is under the odds in my opinion, even if Bynum comes back 100% in the NBA Finals at this point in the season, before the All Star game is well under the odds.
Happy Punting :)
So why not just steam into the LA Lakers at the $3.10 at Betchoice.com? Why not just back a winner, as its not "Value"! Because if Cleveland Cavs finish with a better record then them, and they face each other in the NBA Championship Finals, then I think Cleveland will be a big big chance. Sure The Lakers beat the cavs on the 8th of Feb, to wreck the Cavs home winning streak. But I still think at home the Cavs are something special. Yes the Lakers got the win without Andrew Bynum and he should be back for the Finals (atleast the second round) but I am not sure really that he matters that much. Z Ilguaskas seemed to dominate the first half of that match, but the zen master Phil Jackson seemed to work him out and the Lakers offense for the second half to overcome the 10 point 1st half deficit. Simply put, the Lakers got to the NBA Championship last year without Andrew Bynum, I still think they can win it with him, as much as without him.
The other reason why I think the Lakers may NOT win the West let alone the NBA Championship is the San Antonio Spurs. For mine the Spurs are still a great Championship team and are built to beat the Lakers or most teams over a 7 game series. If the Spurs loose to the Hornets or Suns who I think are better built to beat the Spurs, before they face the Lakers, then the Lakers should steam roll the West. Really the Spurs with all their experience, great coach in Greg Popovich (knows when to hold'em, like against the Nuggets on 3rd of Feb) can over come the Kobe's Lakers and depth. When a player like Luke Walton struggles to get a start on teh Lakers team, it shows how deep they truly are. Props by the way to Spurs Roger Mason, the Wizards are looking very very stupid letting this bloke go!
Okay back to the East, I really really like the Cavs. Outside of their home record they have some beautiful outside shooters and LeBron got the Cavs to the Finals all by himself two years ago. Now with his improved supporting cast, I believe this is a team which can account for Celtics "no worries" and really challenge the Lakers. The big question against the Lakers is what the bench and co will do. Kobe and LeBron almost cancel each other out, so who knows what the rest will do. In their matchup on 8th of Feb, Lamar Odom had a huge game especially on the offensive boards, the box score sometimes does not show purely how influential he was, but trust me he really allowed Kobe to beat the Cavs. But I don't think you can get that every night from Odom and co.
Summary???
Alright, LA Lakers are the best team in the League. Cavs are best team in the East. Cavs will beat the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. Lakers should beat all in the West, but I would be really concerned if they faced the San Antonio Spurs, who can possibly beat them. I still think Phoenix Suns and a fully fit New Orleans Hornets can be dangerous.
Value bet has to be the Cleveland Cavs at $5.50 at Betchoice.com at the time of writing to win the National basketball Association Championship, with a saver on San Antonio Spurs for the Western Conference at $6.50 (much better elsewhere). If you want the winner though it's the LA Lakers, but the $3.10 (big price at Betchoice) is under the odds in my opinion, even if Bynum comes back 100% in the NBA Finals at this point in the season, before the All Star game is well under the odds.
Happy Punting :)
