The NBA Playoffs have taken the center stage on the hardwood, the Major League Baseball season is in full swing on the diamond, and NASCAR drivers are going door to door every weekend on the track. The month of May is sure to bring excitement to all bettors and sports enthusiasts. In the next few weeks, we will have an NBA Champion, an All-Star Race, and of course unlimited action on the baseball field. There will be a wide variety of betting action provided by the major sports books throughout the rest of the month. We take a look at the always interesting prop bets listed at Betus.com & Bodoglife.com while giving some insight on a few bets to consider in the month of May.

Prop Bet #1 – Possible NBA Finals Match-up

One popular betting line on nearly every sports book right now is who will be squaring off in the 2009 NBA Finals? In the Eastern Conference, the defending World Champion Boston Celtics are still alive as they battle with the Orlando Magic who has also been strong all year as well. Newly crowned MVP Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers have looked more than impressive in their post-season run as they are the only unbeaten team in the playoffs. In the Western Conference, everybody seems to want to hand the Los Angeles Lakers the Western Conference Title. However, Houston knocked off the Lakers in Game 1 giving some hope to the rest of the conference. Meanwhile, the Denver Nuggets have remained one of the hottest teams in the League throughout the 2nd half of the season. If you took the Cavaliers and the Lakers who are the favorites out of each conference, they are offering +300 odds. However, we like for you to consider the Denver Nuggets in the West. Sure, the Nuggets were beat up by the Lakers earlier this season but they are not the same team by any means. The Nuggets have a lot of momentum and the Lakers are not as invincible as many would expect. Along with that, Cleveland may never lose another game at home this season. We take a gamble with Denver and say they meet the Cavs in this year’s NBA Finals.

Pick – Denver vs. Cleveland +500

Prop Bet #2 – Southern 500 at Darlington – Kyle Busch vs. Kurt Busch

The Southern 500 down in Darlington, SC is one of the most popular races for drivers and racing fans every year. Darlington is a brutally tough track that has the beating and banging action of a short track with the speeds of a super speedway. The Busch brothers have been very strong so far early on in the 2009 campaign. Kyle Busch is coming off his 3rd win of the season last week on Saturday night in Richmond. The #18 car is a front runner every week and is likely the most talented driver in the sport. Kurt Busch is having a great year as well with a victory in Atlanta. Kurt also led the point standings before last week heading into Richmond and now trails Jeff Gordon by only 10 points. However when it comes to head to head match-up at the track called “too tough to tame,” Kyle should have the big advantage. The ¾ mile narrow speedway is grueling on drivers physically and you really have to be on top of your game to conquer this fickle speedway. Kyle Busch has the extremely aggressive driving style and the talent to not only beat Kurt, but the other 42 drivers this Saturday night as well. Consider a fairly strong bet with the #18 machine.

Pick – Kyle Busch -155

Prop Bet #3 – Who will win the NFC North in 2010?

Perhaps we have gotten too caught up on all the other sports and forgotten the best of them all. Shortly after the NFL Draft, the NFL division odds were updated to accommodate for all the off-season transactions. One division race has grabbed our attention in the NFC South. Of course the Detroit Lions had a great draft, but let’s face it the chances of them going from not winning a game in 2009 to NFC North Champions in 2010 could be a small stretch to say the least. Then it comes down to Green Bay, Chicago, and Minnesota. There are cases to be made for every team. Could Jay Cutler lead the offensively inclined Bears to the promise land? Will the Vikings strong rushing attack lead them to another NFC North crown? Or could Green Bay get the job done after pulling off possibly the best 2009 Draft of any team in the league? Well for starters do not expect for Chicago’s struggles to be changed around in the blink of an eye. The Bears are headed in the right direction, but still need few more playmakers mainly at wide receiver before any big difference will be recognized. The Packers need more consistency on defense to contend in the division despite having more talent and depth on the roster. Green Bay really fell apart at the end of the season and that is not promising for next season. Minnesota has to be the best pick to back up their 2009 performance. Adrian Peterson and the rushing attack really came on strong at the end of the year. The Vikings added depth on the offensive line through the off-season and Percy Harvin could add some more explosiveness as well. Minnesota should improve their already dangerous offense which already dominated the division one year ago.

Pick – Minnesota +125