Miami and Dallas tip off The NBA Finals Thursday in Game 1 of their best-of-seven series from American Airlines Center, with both clubs making their debut in the championship round.
Sportsbook.com opened Dallas as a $1.45 favorite (Bet $145 to win $100), while Heat backers can grab a price of plus-125 (Bet $100 to win $125).
The Mavericks have won four straight games against the Heat, including a season-sweep this year. “Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki poses a major matchup problem for Miami and his numbers in the recent meetings prove that,” says linesmaker Paul Dillon from Sportsbook.com. “He’s ripped them for 25 points per game this year and 27.5 PPG the past four games.”
Miami has room to argue that it should be favored considering their impressive dismantling of Detroit in six games of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Dillon adds, “The Heat did eliminate the Pistons, but it wasn’t even close to the same Detroit team that we saw during the regular season. This club struggled mightily with the Cavaliers and Rasheed Wallace's injury (ankle) may have been much worse than what was released.”
So how do you bet the series? Game to game approach or take a flyer on the series price? Not too much value on the underdog at a $1.25 price, but the Mavericks are a decent price in the best-of-seven, considering they’re laying more than 2/1 odds (Bet $200 to win $100) to win Game 1.
Some players, including myself like to pick the winner of the series, plus hit the exact number of games too. The odds involved are greater than the series price and if things fold your way, you can set up nice hedge plays on the later games.
ODDS TO WIN THE NBA FINALS IN EXACT NUMBER OF GAMES:
SERIES IS 2-3-2 FORMAT BEGINNING IN DALLAS.
Team/Combination Odds
MIAMI WINS IN 4 GAMES 16/1
MIAMI WINS IN 5 GAMES 5/1
MIAMI WINS IN 6 GAMES 6/1
MIAMI WINS IN 7 GAMES 6/1
DALLAS WINS IN 4 GAMES 14/1
DALLAS WINS IN 5 GAMES 7/1
DALLAS WINS IN 6 GAMES 3/1
DALLAS WINS IN 7 GAMES 17/5
Lines from Sportsbook.com
In the table above, you can see Dallas is listed at a 14/1 price to pull off the sweep against Miami in the finals and 17/5 (Bet $100 to win $340) to triumph in a decisive seventh game. A sweep by either team seems improbable, hence the high return.
Currently, Sportsbook.com is leaning towards Dallas in six games, since the 3/1 odds are the lowest out of all possible combinations. The Mavericks in seven is right behind, with the Heat in either six or seven following suit.
If you fancy Dallas in the best-of-seven series, why not lay one-unit on the Mavs to finish off the Heat in six and seven tilts. It would cost you a total of two units and if the oddsmakers are right, you’re looking at a $200 profit.
Ex.
$100 on Dallas in Six Games @ 3/1 WIN +300
$100 on Dallas in Seven Games @ 17/5 LOSS -100
Profit = $200
Trends and Tips
-- Dallas is the only team in this year’s postseason to sweep an opponent (Memphis, 4-0).
-- Ten of the 14 playoff series this season have gone six (6) or seven (4) games.
-- The NBA has had 59 teams hoist the championship history. There have been only seven (12%) sweeps in The NBA Finals.
-- Long series are common in the final matchup, with 38 of the 59 best-of-seven battles going at least to six games.
-- Miami Heat All Star Center Shaquille O’Neal has made five finals appearances, winning three of them. He’s been swept (1995 Houston-Orlando), but also whipped out the broom (2002 New Jersey-L.A. Lakers) once as well.
-- Shaq has never played in the finals where the series has come down to a decisive Game 7.
-- Meanwhile, head coach Pat Riley has roamed the sidelines in the finals on eight different occasions with the Lakers and New York Knicks. Riley has four championship rings to his resume, but the legendary coach has never won a best-of-seven series in less than six games. Also, his squad has been swept on two of the eight appearances under his reign.
Sportsbook.com opened Dallas as a $1.45 favorite (Bet $145 to win $100), while Heat backers can grab a price of plus-125 (Bet $100 to win $125).
The Mavericks have won four straight games against the Heat, including a season-sweep this year. “Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki poses a major matchup problem for Miami and his numbers in the recent meetings prove that,” says linesmaker Paul Dillon from Sportsbook.com. “He’s ripped them for 25 points per game this year and 27.5 PPG the past four games.”
Miami has room to argue that it should be favored considering their impressive dismantling of Detroit in six games of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Dillon adds, “The Heat did eliminate the Pistons, but it wasn’t even close to the same Detroit team that we saw during the regular season. This club struggled mightily with the Cavaliers and Rasheed Wallace's injury (ankle) may have been much worse than what was released.”
So how do you bet the series? Game to game approach or take a flyer on the series price? Not too much value on the underdog at a $1.25 price, but the Mavericks are a decent price in the best-of-seven, considering they’re laying more than 2/1 odds (Bet $200 to win $100) to win Game 1.
Some players, including myself like to pick the winner of the series, plus hit the exact number of games too. The odds involved are greater than the series price and if things fold your way, you can set up nice hedge plays on the later games.
ODDS TO WIN THE NBA FINALS IN EXACT NUMBER OF GAMES:
SERIES IS 2-3-2 FORMAT BEGINNING IN DALLAS.
Team/Combination Odds
MIAMI WINS IN 4 GAMES 16/1
MIAMI WINS IN 5 GAMES 5/1
MIAMI WINS IN 6 GAMES 6/1
MIAMI WINS IN 7 GAMES 6/1
DALLAS WINS IN 4 GAMES 14/1
DALLAS WINS IN 5 GAMES 7/1
DALLAS WINS IN 6 GAMES 3/1
DALLAS WINS IN 7 GAMES 17/5
Lines from Sportsbook.com
In the table above, you can see Dallas is listed at a 14/1 price to pull off the sweep against Miami in the finals and 17/5 (Bet $100 to win $340) to triumph in a decisive seventh game. A sweep by either team seems improbable, hence the high return.
Currently, Sportsbook.com is leaning towards Dallas in six games, since the 3/1 odds are the lowest out of all possible combinations. The Mavericks in seven is right behind, with the Heat in either six or seven following suit.
If you fancy Dallas in the best-of-seven series, why not lay one-unit on the Mavs to finish off the Heat in six and seven tilts. It would cost you a total of two units and if the oddsmakers are right, you’re looking at a $200 profit.
Ex.
$100 on Dallas in Six Games @ 3/1 WIN +300
$100 on Dallas in Seven Games @ 17/5 LOSS -100
Profit = $200
Trends and Tips
-- Dallas is the only team in this year’s postseason to sweep an opponent (Memphis, 4-0).
-- Ten of the 14 playoff series this season have gone six (6) or seven (4) games.
-- The NBA has had 59 teams hoist the championship history. There have been only seven (12%) sweeps in The NBA Finals.
-- Long series are common in the final matchup, with 38 of the 59 best-of-seven battles going at least to six games.
-- Miami Heat All Star Center Shaquille O’Neal has made five finals appearances, winning three of them. He’s been swept (1995 Houston-Orlando), but also whipped out the broom (2002 New Jersey-L.A. Lakers) once as well.
-- Shaq has never played in the finals where the series has come down to a decisive Game 7.
-- Meanwhile, head coach Pat Riley has roamed the sidelines in the finals on eight different occasions with the Lakers and New York Knicks. Riley has four championship rings to his resume, but the legendary coach has never won a best-of-seven series in less than six games. Also, his squad has been swept on two of the eight appearances under his reign.