The last couple of games have proven just how important secondary players are to NBA championship odds. Michael Jordan proved that. It wasn’t until Scottie Pippen came on board, as well as a host of others, that MJ could really prove his worth.

Los Angeles Lakers - Lamar Odom could be the biggest factor in this year’s Lakers odds, including bigger than Kobe Bryant. Odom has an insane skill set for a man his size, and he dominated the Nuggets in Game 5′s win with 19 points and 14 rebounds. Not only can he play in the post, but he can bring the ball up the floor, and he may be the best 6’11″ passer in the NBA. When his heart is in it, of course.

Denver Nuggets – Chris “Birdman” Andersen brings insane rebounding and defensive skills to the Nuggets off the bench, but it’s more the energy he contributes. The Denver fans love Andersen, who has bounced back from a drug suspension, and that sparks the crowd. His play in Game 4 was the difference.

Cleveland Cavaliers – Pick one. Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 16 in Game 5 with Mo Williams adding 24, meaning LeBron James didn’t have to score 40 again (he ended up with 37, but whatever). I’ll take Ilgauskas because Williams is supposed to be scoring. Ilgauskas brings Dwight Howard out of the paint, leaving James space to do his thing.

Orlando Magic – Mickael Pietrus gets the nod over Rafer Alston because Alston was awful in Game 5, and Pietrus not only adds points off the bench, but he gets the task of guarding James as best he can. Pietrus hasn’t shut down James, but really, who can? But he makes him work, which makes James tired by the end of games. If they win Game 6, which they are favored to by NBA odds, Pietrus will have a huge hand in it.

Also before Saturday’s Game 6 between Cleveland and Orlando, check out some boxing betting action. There are two fights in Finland and Florida worth watching, which will pass the time.

David Stern must have set the NBA championship odds at the beginning of the season and laid money on them, because he’s doing his best to make sure that the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers are in the Finals, with the help of his officials, but it may be backfiring.

The Lakers odds to win their series with Denver are still good, but there have been alarming discrepancies for both teams in three of the five games thus far. Phil Jackson has earned a $25,000 fine for complaining after Game 4, but he got the upper hand in Game 3. George Karl has also complained, and the technical situation is out of hand. Denver’s Kenyon Martin has had three of the six Ts against him rescinded by the league.

But Cavs Magic betting players are being treated to one of the most inconsistent and quasi-blatant reffing exhibitions of all time. Look, I’m a big LeBron James fan, but dude is averaging 16 foul shots a game. SIXTEEN! At the end of Game 4, James forced a trip to the line by putting his head down and barging into Mickael Pietrus, praying to get the call. You don’t think he was going to get it? If you don’t , you also don’t think that Rachel Alexander has a Belmont Stakes betting chance in hell in a week. But the Magic are feeling it, too: Dwight Howard had a crap technical from Game 4 rescinded as well.

So basically, the Cavs aren’t out of it by a longshot, because they were getting shady calls on the road. In Cleveland, the Magic should just stayed lined up outside the lane, because that is where they’ll be all night. And the Lakers should be fine, with or without help. The NBA championship odds favorites aren’t done yet.

Now, I have no problem with guarantees, like, for example, if someone in the Rachel Alexander said that Belmont Stakes betting players should gamble the farm on the star filly, then fine. She’s actually done something. I don’t even have a problem with Mo Williams’ guarantee that the Cavs would win the series.

But after watching last night’s overtime loss to the Magic, man……Mo Williams needs to shut his mouth. He came out alright, and even had a decent night with 18 points. But he shot 5-of-15 from the field, missed all three of his long-range attempts, and almost half of his points were on foul shots. Because I (and a host of others) laid my faith in him, basketball odds players everywhere are now in trouble. Meanwhile, those who played the Cavs Magic betting matchup in favor of Orlando, well, I say good on ya. Dwight’s even hitting his free throws, and Rafer Alston is playing out of his mind. 

Still, I’m going for Cleveland one more time. Here’s hopin’. If Mo Williams doesn’t score at least 27 points, there is going to be hell to pay.

Basketball odds pick: Cleveland -7.5

It’s not even boxing betting time, but here I am, taking a beating. 

Cavaliers Magic odds – Wednesday, May 26, 8:30 PM ET

The Cavaliers’ supporting cast was nowhere to be found in Game 3′s 99-89 loss. If it wasn’t for LeBron James and some questionable foul calls, the Cavs may have lost by 20. Mo Williams, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Delonte West combined to go 11-of-37 from the field.  James had 41 points, nine assists and seven boards, but come on, guys, he can’t do it by himself every night.

The Magic were aggressive, and showed composure every time the Cavs made a run. Dwight Howard was hitting his free throws, and if he can do that consistently, he’s unstoppable, which means Orlando is bound to have great NBA odds whenever he’s in the lineup.

Cavs Magic odds are somehow backing Cleveland by 1.5 points, and since Williams “guaranteed” a victory, he better back it up. He’s been disappointing in the playoffs, as he was signed so LeBron doesn’t have to score 40 points a game. The Magic have been riding the underdog train all series and they clearly has the momentum, but you can’t count on Cleveland being that bad again in Game 4….can you?

Cavs Magic betting pick: Cleveland

Lakers Nuggets betting is set for tonight’s Game 4 in Denver, with the Lakers coming in as a 4.5-point underdog and a 2-1 series lead. If you’re looking for the reason why the Lakers will win this game, look no further than the bench.

Seriously….the Nuggets have lost two games in this series due to inbounding players. That’s two sloppy plays away from a possible 3-0 series lead. Really? George Karl has to be one of the worst coaches in the league. Chauncey Billups probably does more coaching on the Nuggets than Karl does (see Carmelo Anthony sprinting to the bench at Billups’ request earlier this season). And it’s not like this is his first time. He was the coach when Seattle lost to Denver as a No.1 seed in the first round of the ’94 playoffs, he was the coach for the 2002 USA team that failed to get a medal. He’s never been a good Xs and Os guy, so Nuggets fans shouldn’t hold their breath.

Phil Jackson hasn’t been at his best in these playoffs, with some strange substitution patterns. Still, he’s won nine NBA titles, so he’s earned the benefit of the doubt. And he has the game’s best closer in Kobe Bryant, who is averaging 37.7 points in this series and has smacked Denver in the mouth with two 40-point games. The biggest difference is the calmness he exudes over this team, even during the last series with Houston. Karl doesn’t do that, and it seems to be on Billups to slow the team down.  That’s one of the main reasons the Lakers has been near the top of the NBA Finals odds all year.

Lakers Nuggets betting pick: Lakers, because George Karl would never do this:

(Bonus Champions League betting pick: Manchester United. Barca’s defense is just too banged up to marshall the likes of Ronaldo, Rooney et al)

Evans Machida odds players are watching Denver battle with the Lakers and thinking, “I hope Machida can take down the champs like the Nuggets are”. The first two games of the Western Conference finals were supposed to be romps for the home team, but no one gave the Nuggets the memo, especially Carmelo Anthony.

Much has been made about the acquisition of Chauncey Billups, and it’s well deserved, but Anthony deserves some props as well. He somehow was missing from the All-Star team, and he had a little problem with coach George Karl when he was subbed out of a game, but the media made more a big deal about it than the team did. In the playoffs, ‘Melo has raised his game, putting up 28.6 points, 6.6 boards and 4.3 assists, and he’s even (gasp) playing hard on the defensive end of the floor. All of this improvement has boosted Denver’s NBA odds dramatically. 

Lakers Nuggets odds had Denver as a massive underdog in this series, but they’re now rated at +120 to pull off the upset after giving away a win in Game 1, and stealing a victory in Game 2.  Anthony has averaged 35.5 points in the first two games, and now he’s going home. ‘Melo knows that if his Nuggets beat Kobe Bryant’s Lakers, he’ll have to be considered one of the best players in the game, especially if he keeps up his play. Basketball betting players could be seeing the next step in the emergence of Carmelo Anthony.

Kobe Bryant will be checking out next week’s Champions League betting odds, as he is a big Barcelona fan and wanted to play for AC Milan while growing up in Italy. However, he took some time out form being a soccer fan to save his team from a shattering loss in Game 1 of their series with Denver.

Lakers Nuggets odds – Thursday, May 21, 9:00 PM ET

Bryant scored 18 of his 40 points to power the Lakers to a 105-103 victory, while no other Lakers had more than 13 points (Pau Gasol and Derek Fisher). The Lakers can’t win with Bryant jacking up 28 shots a game….or can they?

The Nuggets really should have won this game, as they had 11 more free-throw attempts than the Lakers (at the Staples Center, that’s impressive), but managed to go 23-of-35 from the line. Carmelo Anthony lit up the Lakers for 39 points, but free throws and a -9 deficit on the glass killed the Nuggets, who may have missed their best chance to win a game in Los Angeles, where they have beaten Denver nine of the last 10 games.

Lakers Nuggets odds are backing the Lakers by 5.5 points, and it’ll be interesting to see how the Nuggets come out after losing a seven-point deficit in the final 12 minutes of the game. They should keep feeding Anthony the ball as much as possible, as he’s too big for Kobe to guard, and well, then there is Trevor Ariza. J.R. Smith is usually a hot hand off the bench, but he was more wrapped in guarding Bryant, for obvious reasons. Defensively, you have to think the Lakers will step up their game on Thursday, and they could have been a little tired after being taken to seven games by the Rockets, while the Nuggets got a break after beating Dallas in five. Look for a much more balanced Los Angeles team. (Basketball betting pick: Lakers to cover)

Yeah, you’re better off taking Danica Patrick’s Indy 500 odds this weekend than picking the Orlando Magic to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers. Shoot, if they can take it to six, it’ll be an accomplishment. The Eastern Conference finals tips off on Wednesday night in Cleveland, where the Cavaliers are unbeatable.

Cleveland Orlando odds : Cavs -850 to win the series

The Magic beat the Cavs in two of three meetings this year, including one 29-point beating in Orlando that you know LeBron James hasn’t forgot. The Cavs have been steamrolling through the postseason, winning all of their games by double digits, which only served to keep James fresher for a series like this. The Magic showed a lot of heart by going into Boston and thumping the Celtics in the deciding Game 7, but to be fair, a team without Kevin Garnett and a slumping Ray Allen should have NEVER went to seven games with the Magic, who have lost a number of big leads in these playoffs. 

NBA odds are favoring Cleveland by 8.5 points in Game 1, and that sounds about right. The Cavaliers have been absolute beasts at home, and they’re rested. It won’t be a 40-point blowout or anything, but Cleveland will cover the basketball betting spread.

Regardless, we all know Shaq has them both beat on the dancefloor:

The Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference series are something like Rafael Nadal’s French Open odds….it’s pretty much a lock. And while Roger Federer beat Nadal to end his win streak on clay, let’s be frank: the Nuggets are no Roger Federer.

Nuggets vs Lakers odds – Tuesday, May 19, 9:00 PM ET

The Nuggets steamrolled Dallas in five games, but their defense still leaves a lot to be desired. Before Chauncey Billups, they were terrible, now, they at least show a fleeting interest. They still won’t be mistaken for the Celtics or Spurs. 

The Lakers somehow were taken to seven games by Houston, which is a bit worrying because when the Lakers won, it was like they were toying with the Rockets. Must be nice to conserve energy throughout the playoffs. The Lakers need more from their bench to put this series away early.

Nuggets vs Lakers odds are favoring Los Angeles at -265 for the series, and they have a 6.5-point spread in Game 1 at the Staples Center, where they have beaten the Nuggets in nine of their last 10 meetings. The Nuggets’ defense is awful on the road, not something their fans want to hear heading into arguably the second-toughest arena in the league to play in. The Lakers will win the series, and kick off the matchup with a decisive basketball betting victory.

(Preakness Betting Odds pick – Rachel Alexandra is a massive favorite, and you’ll find out why on Saturday)

Okay, so Thursday’s NBA picks didn’t go as planned. Apparently both teams were waiting to get back home. Here is who is going to win on Sunday.

Rockets vs Lakers odds – Sunday, May 17, 3:30 PM ET

NBA odds have the Lakers as a 12.5-point favorite after a terrible performance in a 95-80 loss in Houston, and outside of Kobe Bryant, no one on the Lakers showed any emotion. The Rockets did well to even take this series to seven, but they’ll be in trouble in Los Angeles, where they were blown out by 40 in Game 5. (Basketball betting pick: Los Angeles to cover)

Magic vs Celtics odds – Sunday, May 17, 8:00 PM ET

The Magic are a 2.5-point underdog on the road after a heroic performance from Dwight Howard carried them to an 83-75 win in Game 6, as D-12 racked up 23 points and 22 boards after asking for more touches. The Celtics looked exhausted by the end of Game 6, and Ray Allen needs to snap out of his shooting slumber, but as usual, Paul Pierce will be the one hitting the clutch shots.  (Basketball betting pick: Boston to cover)