The NBA playoff odds are posted all over the internet, and here at Bankroll Sports, we are going to be taking an updated look at the Indiana Pacers vs. Miami Heat series. We’ll go game by game and updated all of the NBA odds and final scores for each of the series, so be sure to join us throughout this series, as we will be keeping this and all of the posts up to date for the NBA playoffs.

Indiana Pacers vs. Miami Heat NBA Playoff Schedule

Heat Win Series 4-3

Game 1: Indiana Pacers 102 – Miami Heat 103 (OT)
Game 2: Indiana Pacers 97 – Miami Heat 93
Game 3: Miami Heat 114 – Indiana Pacers 96
Game 4: Miami Heat 92 – Indiana Pacers 99
Game 5: Indiana Pacers 79 – Miami Heat 90
Game 6: Miami Heat 77 – Indiana Pacers 91
Game 7: Indiana Pacers 76 – Miami Heat 99

Indiana Pacers vs. Miami Heat Series Odds at
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Indiana Pacers +300
Miami Heat -360
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Pacers vs. Heat Series Updates
Game 1: Head Coach Larry Vogel is going to be questioned for this one for the rest of his coaching career. The Pacers had a chance to steal Game 1 of this series if it could have figured out how to stop the Heat on their last possession on one of two occasions. On one opportunity, Chris Bosh knocked down the shot that sent the game to OT, and in the other, with Roy Hibbert sitting on the bench, LeBron James drove to the hoop for a rather uncontested layup that won the game in the extra frame. It’s a shame too, because Indiana palyed as well as it really could have. Hibbert scored 19 points and pulled down nine boards, while Paul George and David West combined to put up 53 points. Still, it was a day for the King. King James scored 30 points and had 10 boards and 10 assists for his first triple-double of the playoffs. C Chris Andersen scored 16 points off of the bench in his biggest game as a member of the Heat. Heat 103 – Pacers 102 (OT) (Heat Lead Series 1-0)

Game 2: The second verse was largely the same as the first for the Heat and the Pacers. Miami couldn’t figure out how to get into an offensive rhythm in this game, and it ultimately paid the price. No one outside of LeBron James as all that memorable for the Heat. King James scored 30+ points for the second straight game in this series, but the team around him really gave him no help whatsoever. Roy Hibbert scored 29 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to lead the way for Indiana, and he was really a difference maker on both sides of the court. If the Heat aren’t going to be able to contain him, there is a real chance that this series could be in some serious jeopardy when push comes to shove. Pacers 97 – Heat 93 (Series Tied 1-1)

Game 3: Had you told Head Coach Frank Vogel that his team was going to be +12 on the offensive glass and hold the Heat down to just six fast break points in Game 3, he probably would have told you that his team was going to be ahead 2-1 in this series going into this week. However, the Heat shot the ball incredibly well, knocking down 54.5% of their shots from the field and 6-of-14 from beyond the arc. LeBron James was relatively quiet with just 22 points, but the rest of the team around him was awesome. Chris Andersen went a perfect 4-for-4 from the field again, and Udonis Haslem had his best game of the postseason by shooting 8-of-9 and scoring 17 points. The Pacers allowed a season-worst 70 points in the first half against Miami, and now, they are in a 2-1 series hole and face what, for all intents and purposes, is a must win Game 4 on Tuesday night. Heat 114 – Pacers 96 (Heat Lead Series 2-1)

Game 4: Indiana is back on terms, and it is back on terms in a game in which Mario Chalmers was seemingly unstoppable. Chris Bosh is still nowhere to be found for the Heat, as he only shot 1-of-6 from the field and didn’t hit a single shot from inside the arc. All of the regulars did their thing for the Pacers, as all five starters scored in double digits, including another remarakble game with 23 points and 12 boards by Roy Hibbert, who is dominating this series in the low blocks. The Pacers shot 50.0 percent from the field, and in spite of the fact that they only knocked down three triples for the whole game, they walked away with a relatively easy win. Pacers 99 – Heat 92 (Series Tied 2-2)

Game 5: The King has answered the call. LeBron James scored 30 points, and he really took over in a third quarter in which the Heat went from down four to up 13 to put Game 5 away for all intents and purposes. It was the first game in which Miami didn’t get crushed on the glass, as the Heat only lost the rebounding battle by one. They also shot the ball incredibly well for the game, knocking down 50.7 percent of their shots. Udonis Haslem and Chris Andersen combined to shoot 10-of-11 from the floor in this one, though Andersen could be facing some discipline from the league for inexplicably shoving Tyler Hansbrough. Paul George had his best statistical game of the series, scoring 27 points with 11 boards and five assists, but it wasn’t enough to get over the hump. Heat 90 – Pacers 79 (Heat Lead Series 3-2)

Game 6: You have to give the Pacers all sorts of credit in this series. Every time the Heat look like they are going to deliever a haymaker and finish this series, Indiana just keeps coming right back and pushing even harder. It wasn’t the prettiest game in the world, but the Pacers fended off the fact that Miami knocked down its first six three-point attempts to ultimately win by double digits. Frustration is written all over the faces of Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, who combined to shoot 4-of-19 from the field in this one. LeBron James scored his 29 points, but an offensive foul against him in the fourth quarter took away any chances of a comeback, especially when he committed a technical foul after the play. Three members of the Pacers logged at least 11 boards, the second time in this series that they have pulled off that feat. Paul George and Roy Hibbert continued their awesome series, as they scored 52 points between them in the win. Pacers 91 – Heat 77 (Series Tied 3-3)

Game 7: The Heat officially took this series over once and for all in the second quarter of Game 7 when they outscored Indiana 33-16. Miami went on to walk away from the Pacers, and it did so by actually dominating on the boards for the very first time in this series and forcing a whopping 21 turnovers. The Pacers only got seven points out of Paul George, who battled foul trouble the whole night, and that proved to be their ultimately demise. LeBron James attempted 16 free throws, only four fewer than the entire Indiana team, and he scored 32 points to lead the way. Dwyane Wade added 21 and nine boards in his best game of this series as well. Heat 99 – Pacers 76 (Heat Win Series 4-3)

2013 Pacers vs. Heat Series Preview

The Heat were more troubled by the Pacers last year in the playoffs than by any other team in the second season, and though they ultimately triumphed in the series, they were surely tested for the full six games that were played. Now, the two teams meet again, but this time, it’s in the Eastern Conference Finals, and the stakes are a heck of a lot higher.

The scariest part about this postseason to the Heat is that they really haven’t seemed to even remotely break a sweat in the playoffs yet. F LeBron James has averaged over 39 minutes per game, but no one else has been good for even 33 minutes. James is also the only man on the team averaging more than 14 points per game. He knows that he is going to have to do more than that here in the playoffs, as will G Dwyane Wade and F Chris Bosh. Wade is going to be happy to have basically a week off to rest his sore knee after putting away the Chicago Bulls. G Norris Cole is knocking down nearly 70% of his shots from the outside in these playoffs, and that’s really helping matters as well, and against an Indiana team that tries to force you to take outside shots, that’s of paramount importance.

The Pacers don’t have F Danny Granger this year, but they have figured out how to get the job done without him. They are almost at the point that they want to be at, but they still have one more huge hurdle to get over here in the form of the Heat. The statistics haven’t been overly pretty for Indiana in the second season thanks to the fact that its defense has locked down for the whole playoffs, but that has been the calling card for the team all season long. F Paul George has averaged 19.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game here in the second season, while we have really seen G George Hill, F David West, and C Roy Hibbert all come into their own, averaging at least 14 points per game apiece. G Lance Stephenson had the huge game in the close out game against the New York Knicks, and even he is averaging 9.8 points and 8.1 rebounds per game in the playoffs as well.

The regular season this year was one for the Pacers. Indiana won and covered two of the three games in this series, and the one loss came when the Heat were playing out of their minds during their 27-game winning streak. Five of the past six meetings have gone past the ‘total’ as well. That being said, we think that the Heat are the better of these two teams by a country mile, and we think that they are going to ultimately going to win this series going away. This is going to be at best a five-game series, though we think that this is going to end in an ugly sweep.

Pacers vs. Heat Series Prediction: Miami Heat in 4

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The NBA playoff odds are posted all over the internet, and here at Bankroll Sports, we are going to be taking an updated look at the Chicago Bulls vs. Miami Heat series. We’ll go game by game and updated all of the NBA odds and final scores for each of the series, so be sure to join us throughout this series, as we will be keeping this and all of the posts up to date for the NBA playoffs.

Chicago Bulls vs. Miami Heat NBA Playoff Schedule

Heat Win Series 4-1

Game 1: Chicago Bulls 93 – Miami Heat 86
Game 2: Chicago Bulls 78 – Miami Heat 115
Game 3: Miami Heat 104 – Chicago Bulls 94
Game 4: Miami Heat 88 – Chicago Bulls 65
Game 5: Chicago Bulls 91 – Miami Heat 94

Chicago Bulls vs. Miami Heat Series Odds at
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Chicago Bulls +35000
Miami Heat -100000
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Bulls vs. Heat Series Updates
Game 1: Even the most staunch Chicago fan couldn’t have seen this one coming! In spite of the fact that the Bulls didn’t have either F Luol Deng or G Kirk Hinrich, they still were able to lock down defensively and hold the sluggish Heat to just 86 points, including only 37 in a very suspect first half that has to concern the champs. F LeBron James, G Dwyane Wade, and F Chris Bosh, who are used to combining for at least 60 points on a nightly basis, had just 47 between them on Monday, and that really was the difference in the game. Chicago used G Marco Belinelli and F Jimmy Butler for a total of 95 minute between them, and that was the difference in the game. Butler scored 21 and had 14 boards. G Nate Robinson scored 27 and had nine assists. Bulls 93 – Heat 86 (Bulls Lead Series 1-0)

Game 2: There was no G Kirk Hinrich and no F Luol Deng for the straight game in this series, yet this time around, the Bulls absolutely got their butts kicked, particularly in a stretch of 20:15 when the game went from 42-38 to 104-58. The de facto 62-20 run was one of the most impressive things that we have seen in our time of watching basketball, and we have seen some pretty darn impressive things. The Heat never really had to break a sweat in this one, as it was over from the get go. Six players logged double-digits of points for Miami, and those six outscored the entire Chicago team by 19 points. Forget about the others who tallied another 18. This could have been a 50-point game if the Heat had wanted it to be. Heat 115 – Bulls 78 (Series Tied 1-1)

Game 3: Once again, all of the players for the Bulls that we have been mentioning as players that have been sitting sat in Game 3, and the end result once again didn’t go Chicago’s way. It was another game littered with technical fouls, and C Nazr Mohammed was ejected after he shoved F LeBron James. Needless to say, that wasn’t what Head Coach Tom Thibodeau needed, knowing that he was already going to play four players at least 42 minutes in this game. The Bulls simply ran out of gas in the final stanza of this one, as they were level going into the fourth quarter and were unlucky to at least not cover the spread. C Chris Bosh scored 20 and brought down 19 rebounds to lead the way in a game in which Chicago really had just about everything going the way that it wanted. Miami helped salt the game away by shooting 26-of-30 from the charity stripe. Heat 104 – Bulls 94 (Heat Lead Series 2-1)

Game 4: The white flag isn’t quite in the air yet, but we’re hearing a fat lady starting to sing, and we think that she’s located in South Beach. G Dwyane Wade tweaked his knee again in Game 4, but that was about the only bit of bad news for Miami in this one. F LeBron James did his thing, scoring 27 points with eight assists and seven boards, while F Chris Bosh was the only other double-digit scorer on the team with 14 points. The impressive stats all came on the other side of the court. The Bulls were held to just 19 field goals for the game, and they had only 42 points through three quarters before scoring 23 in the fourth. G Nate Robinson shot just 0-of-12 from the field, and even if you take that out, the rest of the team only shot 30.6%. There’s nothing left that Chicago can do to stop its pending extinction this season. Heat 88 – Bulls 65 (Heat Lead Series 3-1)

Game 5: We’ll say this about Chicago: It never gave up. The Heat threatened early to blow Chicago out of the water for the fourth straight game. Head Coach Tom Thibodeau and company erased a 17-point deficit though, and the Bulls ultimately build a double-digit lead of their own late in the third quarter. There just wasn’t enough gas left in the tank though, as Miami outscored Chicago 28-14 over the course of the last 14 minutes of the game to win by three. Four players scored at least 15 points for the Bulls in defeat. F LeBron James scored 23 points in spite of his 5-of-14 shooting performance. G Dwyane Wade, playing on a bad knee, scored 18 and had six assists and five boards. Now, the Heat will have at least three days off, and potentially as much as a week off to rest to get ready for the Eastern Conference Finals. Heat 94 – Bulls 91 (Heat Win Series 4-1)

2013 Bulls vs. Heat Series Preview

Just as the New England Patriots were basically convinced that they had a bye through the first two rounds of the playoffs in the AFC this year, the Heat probably can be convinced that they have a bye in the first two rounds of the playoffs this year in the Eastern Conference as well. They made it through their first round without any hassles against the Milwaukee Bucks, taking all four games with ease. Now, they get the Bulls, who had to play a full seven games, including a triple-overtime game in Game 4, and who are incredibly banged up coming into this series.

It’s anyone’s guess as to whether G Derrick Rose is really going to try to suit up or not for this series. In the end, we have to think that Rose is done for the year, even if Chicago gets out of this series. The rest of the team is going to have to pick up the slack around him, and many of the bodies that would be in those roles are hurting as well. C Joakim Noah doesn’t show up on the injury report any longer even though he is playing through plantar fasciitis. Meanwhile, F Luol Deng was hospitalized prior to Game 6 against the Brooklyn Nets and might miss at least the start of this series. G Kirk Hinrich missed three of the seven games against the Nets with a hamstring problem. That being said, G Nate Robinson was able to really step up and have some big, big moments against Brooklyn, and he was actually the second leading scorer at 17.0 points per game in that first series. F Carlos Boozer was a rock in the middle for Head Coach Tom Thibodeau on both sides of the court, and he ended up averaging 17.4 points and 10.6 rebounds per game for the series, shooting 54.5 percent from the field.

And then there are the Heat, who were so not worried about Game 4 against the Milwaukee Bucks that they let G Dwyane Wade sit out for the game. Wade only averaged 13.7 points per game, and it almost seemed like he and his teammates were toying with Milwaukee. F LeBron James only averaged 37 minutes per game, and we know that he has the ability to play 45 minutes per game if he needs to as we go on in the second season. F Chris Bosh only averaged 12.8 points and 8.0 rebounds per game, and he too, is capable of much, much more. This is going to be a tougher series for sure for all of the Heat players, and virtually everyone is going to have to step it up. That being said, there is no doubt who the superior of these two teams are.

The Heat are going to have a score to settle with the Bulls. Chicago was the team that ended their 27-game winning streak back in the end of March. The Bulls also won a game earlier this year at American Airlines Arena, perhaps proving that they can indeed win in this series. That being said, it’s only a matter of time until the Heat turn on the jets, and we think they’re going to do just that when push comes to shove at the United Center in Games 3 and 4 of this series. Not only do we think that Miami is sweeping this series, but we think it is sweeping it without having to break a sweat. Four wins by at least a dozen points are in store as we see it.

Bulls vs. Heat Series Prediction: Miami Heat in 4

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The 2013 NBA playoffs are set to begin, and today at Bankroll Sports, we are going to be keeping a close eye on the series between the Miami Heat and the Milwaukee Bucks. These two should be going at it in a great set of battles, and we are going to have our NBA playoffs predictions and scores update on a nightly basis for this and all of the great series throughout the playoffs. Check back to this page often, as we will be updating our final scores and our series analysis so you can make the most informed NBA picks every step of the way in this series.

Milwaukee Bucks vs. Miami Heat NBA Playoff Schedule

Heat Win Series 4-0

Game 1: Milwaukee Bucks 87 – Miami Heat 110
Game 2: Milwaukee Bucks 86 – Miami Heat 98
Game 3: Miami Heat 104 – Milwaukee Bucks 91
Game 4: Miami Heat 88 – Milwaukee Bucks 77

Milwaukee Bucks vs. Miami Heat Series Odds at
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Milwaukee Bucks +150000
Miami Heat -450000
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Bucks vs. Heat Series Update
Game 1: About all that the Bucks can say out Game 1 is that G Monta Ellis and G Brandon Jennings combined for 48 points, but the rest of the team only scored 39 points, and that obviously isn’t going to beat the Heat. F LeBron James had a ho hum 28 points, 10 boards, and eight assists, and he shot 9-of-11 from the floor in doing so. There was never a doubt as to which one of these teams was. Heat 110 – Bucks 87 (Heat Lead Series 1-0)

Game 2: The Bucks were once again stymied by the Heat in the second game of this series, but at least this game was a little bit closer than the first. Milwaukee at least played a good defensive game, but in the end, it wasn’t enough to get the job done. Miami once again just flexed its muscles, pulling away by outscoring the Bucks 30-21 in the fourth quarter. Heat 98 – Bucks 86 (Heat Lead Series 2-0)

Game 3: Milwaukee took a 30-21 lead in the first quarter against the Heat on Thursday, and there had to be a little bit of hope that perhaps this could still be a series. Unfortunately, the lead didn’t make it through the third quarter. G Ray Allen came off of the bench and scored 23 points, making up for the fact that G Dwyane Wade scored just four points and turned the ball over six times. Six Bucks scored in double figures, but once again, it just wasn’t nearly enough. Heat 104 – Bucks 91 (Heat Lead Series 3-0)

Game 4: The Heat were really never challenged in this series, and they really weren’t challenged in this game either. In spite of the fact that neither F Chris Bosh nor G Ray Allen played 30 minutes and that G Dwyane Wade didn’t actually play in the game, Miami raced out to a seven-point lead at the end of the first quarter and ultimately won by 11. The defense held the Bucks down to just 36 points in the second half. Milwaukee simply couldn’t overcome the combination of G Brandon Jenning and F Ersan Ilyasova shooting 4-of-20 from the field between them. Heat 88 – Bucks 77 (Heat Win Series 4-0)

2013 Bucks vs. Heat Series Preview

If you believe that this series is going to be anywhere near close, you have to have another thing coming. The Heat might take a little bit of time to back in the saddle, as they really haven’t been playing all that hard over the course of the last few weeks, but they are clearly the superior team in this game in this best of seven series.

The Bucks know that they would be lucky to get a game in this series, and they are probably just happy to be here in the playoffs. Milwaukee made the biggest move in the league at the NBA’s trade deadline, trading for G JJ Redick. Redick has only averaged 12.3 points per game since coming to the team, which has been a bit of a disappointment, but the truth of the matter is that team really didn’t have a place for all of these guards. Redick is basically the same size is both G Monta Ellis and G Brandon Jennings, and these three can’t successfully be on the court at the same time. There just aren’t all that many bigs that are going to be able to defend the rest of the bigs that the Heat are bringing to the table.

Meanwhile, Miami is clearly one of the most talented teams that we have seen, not just in the league, but in league history as well. The Heat went on a 27-game winning streak, the second longest in the history of the league, and the display was one of the most impressive things that we have ever seen in pro basketball. F LeBron James is going to win the MVP Award once again this year, and for good reason. He averaged 26.8 points, 8.0 boards, and 7.2 assists per game this season, and those averages probably would have been a heck of a lot better if not for the fact that he didn’t play a heck of a lot of minutes over the course of the last several weeks of the season. G Dwyane Wade would have been the most important player on virtually any other team in the league after averaging 21.2 points, 5.1 assists, and 5.0 boards per game. F Chris Bosh probably would have been as well with 16.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. What really makes this team different though, is its IQ and its three-point shooting ability. Miami is second in the league, knocking down 39.6 percent of its three point shots, and the play of G Mario Chalmers and G Ray Allen is clearly making all the difference for this team.

For as much as the basketball enthusiast would like to think that this series will get back to Miami after leaving after Games 1 and 2. It would be a shock to us if Milwaukee figured out how to get even a game in this series when push came to shove, but it would be surprising to us as well if it managed to keep a single game within single digits either.

Heat vs. Bucks Series Prediction: Miami Heat in 4

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At the outset of the season, pretty much all of the expert NBA handicappers out there thought that the Miami Heat would be the representatives in the Eastern Conference Finals playing host to the first two games of the series. Of course, everyone thought that the Boston Celtics would be the team that they were playing. The Chicago Bulls crashed the party though, and they are the team hosting the first two duels in this series. Check out our NBA playoff picks for this very, very highly anticipated series.

NBA Series Prices
Chicago +170 vs. Miami -190 @ Oddsmaker Sportsbook
Chicago +160 vs. Miami -185 @ SportBet Sportsbook
Chicago +160 vs. Miami -200 @ BetUS Sportsbook

Series Trends and History
The Heat had a heck of a time trying to beat any of the best teams in the league on a consistent basis this year, and Chicago was definitely no exception. In fact, the Bulls swept the season series with three straight wins, and they went 2-0-1 ATS to show for their work as well. Yet the oddsmakers are favoring the Heat in this series in spite of the fact that both of these teams have clearly hit their stride.

Miami reached this point in the playoffs by taking care of the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics, both of which happened in five games. Chicago didn’t have to work all that hard either. Sure, the Bulls know that they struggled a bit more with the Indiana Pacers and Atlanta Hawks than perhaps they should of, but when push came to shove, winning out in five games and six games respectively, especially since the last two came in awesome fashion against the Hawks, was nothing to forget about.

The Heat are 6-1 ATS in their last seven games against teams with a winning record. They’re also 7-2 ATS in their last nine road games. However, there is definitely a problem going against teams from the Central Division. Miami is only 0-5 ATS in its last five against the Central Division. To make matters worse, it is 0-5 ATS in its last six playoff games as an underdog.

The Bulls, on the contrary, have absolutely nothing to worry about. They dominated this year at home, going 36-5, and they are now 5-1 in the playoffs here at the United Center in the postseason. Chicago is 36-16-2 ATS in its last 54 games against teams with a winning record SU. It is also 12-2-2 ATS in its last 16 home games against teams with a winning road record.

Underdogs are 3-0-1 ATS in the last four games in this series. The home team though, is 5-2-1 ATS, while the Heat are just 1-3-1 ATS in their last five trips to the Windy City.

Keys to the Series
Key 1: Home Court Advantage – The Bulls were never supposed to be able to snare home court advantage in the playoffs, but they did just that by playing well down the stretch and snaring the top overall seed, not just in the Eastern Conference, but in the entire league as well. We’ve already mentioned this great record for Chicago in its own backyard, but the Heat have yet to lose a game at American Airlines Arena as well in the playoffs. Things are amped up another notch in the playoffs, especially in a series like this, and the crowd can really be that sixth man on the court quite a bit. Chicago just cannot lose one of these first two games in this series, or the Heat are most likely going to end up winning this series in six games.

Key 2: The Role Players – Head Coach Tom Thibodeau knows that Derrick Rose, Carlos Boozer, and Luol Deng aren’t going to be able to do all of this by themselves. Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen also had men like Steve Kerr and Dennis Rodman in the Bulls’ great runs in the 90s. Kerr was the man with ice running through his veins, and the truth of the matter is that Kyle Korver could be the same type of player. We know that the Heat have three superstars in LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh, but these three cannot win games by themselves. Whether it is James Jones, Mario Chalmers, Udonis Haslem, or any of the other role players that this team has, someone else is going to need to step up to be able to run with the Bulls.

Key 3: Series Fit For a King, or an MVP? – LeBron James has had a heck of a career, but the truth of the matter is that he has never won the big one. The Cleveland Cavaliers were never in a position where they were supposed to win the NBA Finals, but this time around, James and his new team in Miami are favored to win it all on the NBA Finals odds. Derrick Rose has stood in the face of every situation that he was never supposed to get through, and he has really played well in all of them. We know that both of these men are going to be taking 20+ shots per game. Though neither one is going to be able to win this series on their own, they can both lose it on their own. Rose and James are going to be the spotlight players in this series, and the NBA is going to know which one of its stars is really going to bring it into the next generation.

The Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat both have aspirations of beating the NBA Finals odds this year to claim glory. These two titans will run into each other like two runaway trains going in opposite directions starting on Sunday, and only one will be able to survive.

NBA Series Prices
Miami -195 vs. Boston +165 @ Oddsmaker Sportsbook
Miami -200 vs. Boston +170 @ SportBet Sportsbook
Miami -190 vs. Boston +155 @ BetUS Sportsbook

Series Trends and History
The Celtics did a nice job in this series this year in the regular season. They won 88-80 in a great game in October and came back to South Beach to score a 112-107 ‘W’. February’s meeting also went Boston’s way in 85-82 form at TD Garden. The difference making win went to Miami, though. In one of the last games of the regular season, the Heat scored a 100-77 victory. Because of that, they finished in front of the C’s in the standings and earned home court advantage in this series.

The Celtics are still 9-3 ATS over the course of the last 12 meetings in South Beach, and they had covered four in a row and seven out of eight before that romp here at American Airlines Arena. The favorite is 13-6 ATS in the last 19 clashes of these titans.

Keys to the Series
Key 1: The Battle in the Paint – There really isn’t anything more important in this series. The Celtics know that they have a huge deficiency without Kendrick Perkins. They might get Shaquille O’Neal back in the fold at some point during this series, but we don’t know whether it’s going to make much of a difference. If Joel Anthony and Zydrunas Ilgauskas can figure out how to give just a few contributions, that should be good enough for the Heat to dominate.

Key 2: LeBron’s Passion – LeBron James is going to be the best player on the court in this series, but that doesn’t mean that he is going to be putting up the best numbers. James was knocked out of the playoffs by these Celtics last year, and he really needs to be at his best to avenge that defeat from last year. Boston figured out how to bottle LeBron up last year, and if it does so again, the Heat are in a ton of trouble.

Key 3: Overcoming the Past – We’ve already mentioned just how badly the Heat played against Boston this year, but this wasn’t the only rock solid team that they didn’t do so great against on the campaign. Miami was knocked off twice by the Dallas Mavericks and all three times by the Chicago Bulls. This has been a huge problem for the Heat, and if they can’t get over their problems against the best of the best, they’ll never be able to beat the NBA Finals odds.

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It’s playoff time once again for the men of the hardwood and on the ice! Here at Bankroll Sports, we’re still taking our best shots at the teams, players, and situations that really cost us sports bettors in a big way in the week that was.

Rap Sheet Picture of the Week
Montreal Canadiens G Jaroslav Halak, who blew a three goal lead and gave up this game-winner 31 seconds into overtime.

All of the home teams in the NHL playoffs should be ashamed of themselves. Not a single one of the are hitting the road up two games this week. However, the team we really need to take a stab at right off the bat is the Montreal Canadiens. The rest of the NHL hates you right now, Montreal. After all, the Habs were up 1-0 in the series after stealing Game 1 at the Verizon Center, and they held a 4-1 lead following LW Andrei Kostitsyn’s third goal of the game with just over two minutes to play in the second period. G Jose Theodore had already been ran out of the game and replaced by G Semyon Varlamov, and the Habs looked primed to take a 2-0 lead back to the Great White North. Not so fast, my friends. They were outscored 4-1 during the next 20 minutes of hockey, and then just 31 ticks into the overtime, C Nicklas Backstrom connected for the game-winner, his third goal of the game. Enjoy being bounced from this series in five games, Montreal. You had your chance to slay the giants in the playoffs, and now you’re going to pay the ultimate price for not succeeding.

Give it up for Jason Marquis, ladies and gentlemen! The right-hander has been an absolutely abortion of a signing for the Nationals on the outset of this season, as he has given up at least six earned runs in each of his starts and is 0-3 to show for it. On Sunday though, he had one of the more embarrassing starts that any pitcher has seen in this ’10 MLB betting campaign. Marquis gave up a single to Rickie Weeks, a single to Craig Counsell, a single to Ryan Braun, plunked Prince Fielder, walked Casey McGehee, plunked Jim Edmonds, and gave up a single to Gregg Zaun, and was promptly removed without recording an out. Seven batters faced. Seven batters scored. Solid job, Marquis. Your numbers for the year now? 8.1 innings pitched, 18 hits, 20 runs (19 earned), 2 HRs, 7 walks, 3 plunks, 3 strikeouts, a WHIP of 2.88, a batting average against of .419, and an ERA of 20.52. Doesn’t get much better than that.

Hey, Kevin Garnett, you haven’t cost us any money yet, but we totally see this one coming. For whatever reason, you decided to elbow G Quentin Richardson in the face with 40 seconds to play in a game in which your Celtics stormed back from a 61-47 deficit halfway through the third quarter to win by nine. Now, the NBA’s sheriff, Commissioner David Stern, is inevitably going to suspend you for Game 2 of this series (if not longer). Isn’t your team already woeful enough at home with you in the lineup that you can’t afford to take yourself out of a playoff game for no good reason? C’mon KG, you’re better than this.

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Remember a few years ago when the Boston Celtics were considered the “feel good champs” in the NBA? After all, F Kevin Garnett finally got his ring after all of those years mired in one of basketball’s many purgatories with the Minnesota Timberwolves, F Paul Pierce was finally recognized as one of the true warriors in the game, G Ray Allen was now an East Coast hero after being a Seattle send off that almost always flew under the radar, and other role players like G Rajon Rondo and F Glen Davis were just generally loved.

Now, the C’s are nothing more than the bad boys of the NBA that we can’t wait to see get knocked out of the playoffs.

One thing is for certain, and that’s that this team is becoming a lot like the Detroit Pistons both of the Chuck Daly era and the Larry Brown era. This Boston squad isn’t afraid to bloody you up a bit and smack you right in the mouth to get their point across.

Unfortunately, KG took that mantra a wee bit too seriously on Saturday night.

The term “flipping the switch” was heard in the Boston locker room for the entire second half of the season. The Celtics went 27-27 in their final 54 games of the year, which is hardly acceptable for a team that was the most feared in the NBA over the L/2 seasons. After falling behind 14 points halfway through the third quarter in their Game 1 of the NBA playoffs against the Miami Heat, the proverbial switch was flipped.

Boston was fantastic over the next 19 minutes of play, outscoring the Heat by a whopping 23 points in that stretch to win the game going away. The switch has been flipped.

However, that same switch might’ve been flipped for Miami as well, and it had nothing to do with the basketball going into the net.

Garnett threw an elbow at G Quentin Richardson with 40 seconds to play in the game that earned him a pair of technical fouls and an immediate ejection. Commissioner David Stern is likely to suspend Garnett for at least Game 2 on Tuesday night, if not Game 3 in Miami on Friday as well.

Richardson responded after the game by referring to both Garnett and Pierce as “actresses.”

One thing is for certain though, and that’s that Miami is going to be ready to go regardless of whether KG is a part of the action in Game 2 or not. The Heat were nearly 3-1 underdogs to win this series at the outset of it. All action is off the board at all of the sportsbooks due to the potentially pending suspension.

Regardless of what the odds say about this series, you can bet that Miami has already taken Boston’s best shot and will be ready to take aim at the second round of the playoffs.