2005 NBA Playoffs Wagering

While the Boys of Summer are gearing up for a long baseballseason, the Boys of Fall are winding down to the post season,and it figures to be a battle of wills and attrition in the West,while the East is clearly a two team race.

The East boils down to Detroit and Miami, and Miami clearlyhas the #1 seed, and the big plus for the Heat, besides Shaq daddyis simple, they can win on the road, at 23-15 to date. Their homecourtadvantage will be a huge plus for them, as they played 39 gamesthis year at home and won 33 of them. With Shaq coming off a longlayoff, he should be fresh and ready to take the punishment thatteams will try to put on him, let’s hope for his sake he was practicinghis free throws during the layoff.

Detroit is interesting, because they are very physical and theypose the best low post match-up for the Heat, but they tried theirbest to beat the Heat last week, without Shaq, and they failed.A sense of things to come in my mind. My dark horse in the Eastis Indiana, who has played as hot as anyone down the stretch besidesDenver from the West, but with the possible return of JermaineO’Neil and Jamal Tinsley, expect the Pacers to give someone allthey want and then some.

The West is up for grabs, but I do not trust San Antonio yet,and Duncan being out for so long will have an adverse effect.They have plenty of star power, and Tony Parker is one of thebest point guards around, but they will not walk through the playoffsand the team I paid 3 to 1 to win it all has me worried, especiallywith some sloppy play recently, but the Spurs can play some seriousdefense at home. Bruce Bowen will be busy during the playoffswith his defensive prowess.

Phoenix is a scary team, but the downfall for the Suns is twofold. No depth and no low post is a concern. They also play littledefense, and live and die by the run and gun. Did I mention thatthey have little playoff experience except for Steve Nash? Thatbeing said, it would not surprise me at all to see these guysin the finals, and anybody who has to go through them to get intothe NBA finals will be a very tired team. The two hottest teamsin the West are both capable of taking it deep, Dallas and Denver.The Mavs have been able to win on the road this year, somethingthey have struggled with in the past, and they are playing betterdefense, and Avery Johnson at head coach now is 12-2! The depthof this team is scary to say the least and the starting line-upis formidable, and Nowitiski is simply a man possessed and JerryStackhouse has stepped it up as well. Dallas could win it alland have the 4th best record in the NBA. The are a real contenderthis year, as opposed to recent years.

George Karl’s team, at the time of this article has played thebest ball since the All Star break as anyone, and have won 9 outof their last 10. This is a young and dangerous team, but theyplay as good of “team ball” as anyone in the NBA outside of theSpurs. Expect them to hang close with anyone. My dark horse thatno one should overlook is Seattle, with Ray Allen and RashardLewis leading the way, but they have lost 6 in a row, and havewent 2-8 their last 10, but I still feel these guys are capable,along with Sacramento. There is no #1 through #4 seed in the Westthat should overlook their opponent, or they will get beat, Ican assure you of that.

From a gaming perspective, expect some blowouts in the Eastleading up to the final, but in the West expect some tight games,and a home / road dichotomy scenario in many of the match-ups.Laying big numbers in the West is dangerous, and underdogs, whilethey might not win SU would worth looking at getting 5 or moreat any point. I also expect some high scoring games in the West,exceeding 210 total points, while the East I expect some low scoringaffairs, especially after the first round.

All in all it should be a great NBA Playoff scenario for wagering,and at 62-23 ATS the past two years combined at my service, Iam licking my chops this Playoff season.

Tony George can be found at www.sportsaudioshows.comor at 1-800-562-1017. He brings 13 years of playoff experinceto the table and posts plays daily and has affordable packagerates on his website.