While 2011 March Madness betting odds have dominated the basketball landscape lately, it’s time for the NBA to start regaining their power among hoops fans as the playoffs are on the horizon. The NBA on TNT returns on Thursday after a couple weeks of college basketball, and there are four teams in action that have their eyes on the title, including the champions in 10 of the last 12 years. The two years that one of these four teams didn’t win the NBA title, they lost in the Finals. Celtics Spurs Betting – Thursday, 8:00 PM ET The Celtics (2008 champions) will likely be underdogs on the road against the Spurs (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007), who are already without Tim Duncan because of an ankle injury, and they may be without Manu Ginobili, who suffered a leg injury in Sunday’s loss to Memphis. The Celtics have their own injury woes as Shaquille and Jermaine O’Neal still aren’t in the lineup, Troy Murphy has a bum ankle and Rajon Rondo missed Sunday’s win over Minnesota with an ailing finger. Soccer betting players know how much injuries can affect a season, given how many games soccer players play, and the age of these two teams are showing as they’re getting hurt at exactly the wrong time. Therefore, we likely won’t see either of these championship contenders at full strength on Thursday night. Mavericks Lakers Betting – Thursday, 10:30 PM ET That shouldn’t be the case in the nightcap, as the Mavericks (finalists in2006) and Lakers (2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2008 finalists, 2009, 2010) should have all hands on deck for this possible Western Conference finals preview. Not only that, both are playing well as the Mavericks take a four-game winning streak into Wednesday’s game against the Clippers (also at the Staples Center), while the Lakers will take a seven-game streak into a game that you don’t need a 5dimes review to tell you will be great. These two have met twice this season, both in Dallas, with the Mavericks winning by nine points on January 19th, and the Lakers bounced back with a five-point win on March 12th. The Mavericks are sometimes forgotten when people are talking about contenders from the West, considering the season that the Spurs have had, and the Lakers are, well, the Lakers and they are always going to be at the forefront of the conversation, whether they are winning or losing. But the Mavericks are out to show they can be a force, and a win in Los Angeles over the Lakers would be a huge statement. Either way, you can expect this to be the hottest sports bet of the night.
