The NBA Playoffs have provided some extremely exciting games during the 2009 playoffs in what has become one of the best postseasons in recent memory. The Chicago Bulls and Boston Celtics battled in perhaps one of the best opening round series of all-time. The Orlando Magic conquered Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers who were big favorites to win the Eastern Conference. Meanwhile out West, some familiar faces have taken down the Conference in the Los Angeles Lakers. Now we are down to only two remaining teams as Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic will battle Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers in a best of 7 series for an NBA Title. The stakes are not only high on the court, but also high in the sports betting world. All major sports books are providing various types of props and ways to bet on the 2009 NBA Finals are we will break down some interest bets to consider before Game 1 takes place this Thursday night. We take the opportunity to make some money off these interesting odds and betting lines provided by Betus.com.

NBA Finals Prop Bet #1

Who will be the 2009 Finals MVP?

Kobe Bryant -300
Dwight Howard +275
Pau Gasol +600
Rashard Lewis +850
Hedo Turkoglu +1200
Lamar Odom +2500

Predicting this year’s Finals MVP will not be an extremely difficult task. In fact, it would be pretty safe to say that this is a two horse race. Kobe Bryant will definitely be the most lethal scoring threat on the floor. Bryant who is arguably the best pure shooter in the NBA will be the leading favorite to take home the Finals MPV honors this season. Bryant has been knocking down 30 points per game during the playoffs while shooting 47% from the field. Bryant has high probability to average 30 points during the Finals which make him rightfully the leading candidate for MVP. However, Dwight Howard has already dethroned one King during the playoffs and he could play spoiler to Bryant’s MVP opportunities as well. Howard has dominated the inside game averaging 15.4 rebounds per game and posting 22 points per game during the playoffs. Howard has also knocked down 62% of his shots from the field that leads the 2009 post-season. The Magic’s big man has been very impressive during the last few games and his ability to not only score points, but dominate the glass give him an extra category to help him pull off the MVP upset. Considering the betting odds are so heavily favoring Bryant, we will place some extra cash with Howard and hope for the very profitable payoff.

Pick – Howard +275

NBA Finals Prop Bet #2

Series Total Games – 5 ½ Over -220, Under +175

The 2009 playoffs have been filled with back and forth series and we believe the stage is setting up to be another similar scenario in the Finals. The Orlando Magic have a strong inside game lead by Dwight Howard aided by some outside shooting the looks pretty dangerous at times by Rashard Lewis and an emerging Mickael Pietrus. The Lakers not only have one of the most dangerous shooters in the NBA, but a cast of outside shooters that can get hot on any given night. These two teams are going to find ways to give each other troubles and there is not much of a chance that this will be 4-5 game series. Throw in the fact of how wild everything has played out thus far in the post-season and you can rest assure there are a lot of fireworks left to be displayed. Simple fact is here, that the home court will be huge to each team as it normally is during the playoffs. The Lakers are sure to benefit from the first two being at home, but Orlando should be able to hold their own ground as well. There are those that believe that the Lakers high scoring offense may be too fast paced for Orlando. While that may be true in some ways, the Magic have been able to score more points lately as well. Orlando simply is too good to be shut out or dominated in this series and we don’t believe there is much of a chance for the series to be held under 6 games.

Pick – Over -220

NBA Finals Prop Bet #3

Who will win the first game and win series?

Magic to win game and win series +550
Magic to win game and lose series +500
Lakers to win game and win series -190
Lakers to lose game and win series +500

This particular prop bet is one that should open a lot of eyes. There are so many ways that could make a big payout if just the Lakers lose Game 1 or lose the series. However, that will be difficult considering Game 1 is inside the Staples Center and the Lakers seem to be the rather sizeable favorites for the Championship. However, people are quick to forget that the Magic were 2-0 against the Lakers during the regular season which included a victory on the Lakers home court. The odds are for going against the Lakers in this situation are just very inviting especially considering how well Orlando has played over the last few weeks. Going back to the previous article where we predicted a back and forth series, that would also play favorable to this prop bet. If Orlando is to come out and stun the Lakers in Game 1, either way the series ends is +500 or better odds. The difficult part of this bet is deciding which outside chance bet to take. However, the Magic winning Game 1 before Kobe and company get hot is just too profitable to not take a gamble towards making some extra cash.

Pick – Magic win game and lose series +500

The intense NBA Playoff action has got off to a great start as most teams have at least played 2 games in their opening round match-ups. There have been few upsets and unexpected outcomes like the underdog Chicago Bulls upsetting the defending NBA Champions the Boston Celtics in the opening round. Cleveland, Los Angeles, and Boston are among the most heralded big names heading into the post-season as they are leading favorites to make it to the NBA Finals. However, we will take a look at few of the teams that could play the spoiler role and be the Cinderella type story usually only found in March Madness. If you also have any confidence that these underdogs may have what it takes to pull of big upsets, take advantage of betting odds now while you could really cash-in to make huge profits.

Chicago Bulls

Chicago upset over Boston may have opened a lot of eyes, but this was really not that big of a surprise. The Bulls rallied to close out the season winning 12 of their last 16 games which also included a victory over the Celtics. The emergence of Derrick Rose towards the end of the season has given the Bulls a much needed boost. Rose also dropped 36 in the opening round two point victory in Boston. Chicago’s ability to at least split the two games in Boston was better than expect considering how well the Celtics have played at home. The Bulls could really have a chance to put the defending Champions a way if they could take advantage of the home games. If the Bulls can indeed come out victorious in the series, they will get winner of Philadelphia and Orlando in the semi-finals. Both of those teams have been inconsistent and closed out the season poorly. Of course for anyone to make the NBA Finals out of the Eastern Conference they would have to find away to beat Cleveland at home. Still the +3500 odds are eye catching and even though it may seem nearly impossible for the Bulls to put together this type of run, it is definitely worth the consideration.

Denver Nuggets

Is it that surprisingly that Los Angeles is huge -450 favorites to win the Western Conference. Probably not considering how they have dominated the teams out West all season with a demanding 44-8 record in the conference. However, history tells us that the odds to make it back to the NBA Finals after losing in the Finals the year before are against you by a fairly good margin. Taking the consideration that something will happen to the dominate Lakers along the stretch; there is only one team that could really step up to challenge in the West and that is the Denver Nuggets. Sure the Lakers won 3 out of 4 over the Nuggets through the regular season and it would seem absurd to bet against them. However, Denver is rather streaky team that can put together strings of wins. After a dominating 113-84 victory in Game 1 over New Orleans, you would not expect their to be too much trouble in the series. The next series would include two tough post-season teams in Dallas or San Antonio. Here again Denver talent should prevail and keep building some confidence that will give them a new attitude with the Lakers when the opportunity for a championship is on the line. The +800 odds help make this scenario look better as well. It comes down to this, sure the Lakers are everyone’s favorites to win the West but if anyone can beat the Lakers then who would it be? We say Denver.

Orlando Magic

Think we would forget one of most dominant teams from earlier in the season? Sure Orlando gave up an 18 point deficit to Philadelphia in an embarrassing loss in game 1, but they may have been the best thing to happen for Orlando. Expect them to come out firing in Wednesday’s second game with the 76ers. Remember Orlando for large majority of the season contended with Cleveland and Boston for Eastern Conference supremacy. However, after the injury to Jameer Nelson midway through the season the Magic’s momentum took a crucial blow. Even without Nelson, Orlando handed Cleveland their biggest loss of the season when they blew out the Cavaliers 116-87 back on April 3rd. The most likely scenario that plays out in the Eastern Conference will be Orlando rallying back against Philadelphia and then taking down either Chicago or Boston in the semi-finals. This would set the stage for a classic 7 games series with Orlando and after that huge victory a few weeks ago does anyone really think the Magic will doubt if they can beat Cleveland? Dwight Howard ability to control the glass will make a big difference in the long run and if Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis can find away to score some points then rest assured you have not heard the last from the Magic.