Preakness betting odds are out for this weekend’s big race, and a couple of proven thoroughbreds will advance to the conference finals in the NBA tonight. NBA odds has one Finalist from last year as an underdog on the road, while the other is favored away from home.

Celtics vs Magic odds (Magic -7) : 7:00 PM ET

After blowing a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter….IN BOSTON, no less….the Magic are done. This series should realistically be over by now, but the Magic don’t know how to put teams away yet, and Dwight Howard was right when he said that Orlando’s offense did the wrong thing and went away from him. They could get away with that against Philadelphia, but against the defending champions? Nope. Let’s see how Stan Van Gundy messes this up tonight. (Basketball betting pick: Boston)

Lakers vs Rockets odds (Lakers -9) : 9:30 PM ET

Now that’s the Lakers we know so well. After losing to a Yao-less Houston team in Game 4, you knew the Lakers would be fired up on their homecourt, and it turned into a Game 5 nightmare for the Rockets as they lost (putting it mildly) by 40 points. This game won’t be a rout, but if Andrew Bynum plays the way he did in Game 5, it’s a wrap for the Rockets. (Basketball betting pick: Lakers to win straight up, but not cover)

Preakness betting players know the importance of a good thoroughbred, and Dallas has that in Nowitzki. The problem is, they don’t have much else, and that will hurt them tonight in Denver.

Mavericks vs Nuggets odds – May 13, 9:00 PM ET

The Mavericks only pulled out Game 4 because of a monster effort from Nowitzki, who had 44 in a 119-117 win at home. However, unless Josh Howard can shake off an ankle injury to score another 21 points and grab 11 boards, it could be a long night. The Nuggets are 10-point favorites at home according to NBA odds, and Denver will come out with fire because of their defensive performance in Game 4. A lot of that had to do with a missing Chris Andersen, who sat out the game with the flu, while Kenyon Martin was a mess due to his mom getting harassed in the stands. Carmelo Anthony’s girlfriend also had some problems and was ejected from the building in Game 4, so the Nuggets will have revenge on their mind. This could be a blowout.

Basketball betting pick: Denver to cover

First off, two things: the NBA needs to step their security game up. Kenyon Martin’s mom was gettin’ heckled in Dallas, and I ask you, what kinda person goes at a dude’s mom? Mark Cuban is a punk. Second, fans SHOULD NOT have better seats than players. If they didn’t, “Big Baby” wouldn’t have knocked over the stupid kid. And if he was an Orlando player who made a game-winning shot, his father wouldn’t have said a word.

Now, on to some NBA odds:

Orlando at Boston (8:00 PM ET)
The Celtics should have won Game 4 by more, but their bench was terrible. It’s a good thing the Orlando guards were just as bad, as Rafer Alston and J.J. Redick combined to shoot 1-of-14, including 1-of-11 from three-point land. The Celtics are gaining steam, and unless Dwight Howard puts up 40 and 20, the Magic will be staring down the barrel of a 3-2 deficit. NBA odds favor Boston by two points. (Basketball betting pick: Boston)

Houston vs Los Angeles (10:30 PM ET)
The Lakers WILL NOT come out flat like they did in Game 4′s loss, especially Kobe Bryant, who will go into “Black Mamba” mode. The Rockets pulled out a great win in Houston without Yao Ming, but can Aaron Brooks have another 34-point game at the Staples Center? We don’t think so. NBA odds favor the Lakers by a whopping 12 points. (Basketball betting pick: Los Angeles)

I know you remember this scene from mid-December. Kevin Garnett lashes into Glen “Big Baby” Davis late in a win over Portland, and then Davis promptly proceeds to cry on the Boston bench. Now, a championship team with great NBA odds shouldn’t have any criers on the team, should they?

Fast forward to Sunday’s Game 4 in Orlando, and everyone in the arena expected the ball to go to Paul Pierce, Ray Allen or Rajon Rondo, but those looking over their NBA odds would have never expected Davis to hit the game-winning shot. But there he was, hitting an 18-foot jumper to give the Celtics a 95-94 win to even the series up at two games apiece. Davis has elevated his game in the postseason in Garnett’s absence, putting up 16.4 points and 6.0 boards, and if he keeps this up, the Celtics’ NBA odds won’t take a big drop without their defensive leader on the court.  That shot may have broken the Magic completely, so it wouldn’t be a bad choice to take the Celtics tomorrow night in your US-friendly sportsbook.

The Boston Celtics-Cleveland Cavaliers series has been extremely unpredictable by NBA standards. As a matter of fact, some college football betting fans or NFL football betting fans might be looking at this series and saying there have been more twists and turns than an NFL playoffs, or an upcoming UFC 116 Betting Event.

The two teams square off for a critical Game 5 on Tuesday night and the question is how strong is the elbow of LeBron James? It’s tough to gauge right now as when he had three days rest, he shredded the Celtics. On one day’s rest, he’s been wonky. Game 5 will be critical as the team that wins this contest likely wins the series.

Game 5: Boston Celtics @ Cleveland Cavaliers

Sports Betting Odds: Cavaliers -7.5

It’s hard not to like the value offered here with the Celtics. Let’s be realistic: they have been blown out once in this series and have been in each and every other game. As a matter of fact, they have dominated at times – including the last time these two teams were in Cleveland in Game 2.

James’ elbow is the problem. And so is Rajan Rondo. The Celtics point guard has clearly been the best member of the aging squad but he has carried them. He had a ridiculous triple-double in Game 4 and if he plays like that again – or dishes out 19 assists as he did in Game 2 – then the Celtics could win this game.

Meanwhile, the Cavaliers need to be dominant. They were in the regular season but this series has been a different story.

It’s hard to bet against the Cavaliers in this contest but eight points is too much to lay.

Sports betting Pick: Celtics +7.5

The NBA odds were stacked against the Atlanta Hawks in the first place, as sportsbook players stayed away from them, and they showed why as they were blown out of their first two games in Cleveland. Now, it looks like it’ll get worse.

Al Horford? Injured. Marvin Williams? Injured. Now, All-Star Joe Johnson could be the next Hawk on the trainer’s table as he sprained his ankle in the third quarter of Game 2, and he is questionable for Saturday’s Game 3 when the Hawks return home. NBA odds have the Hawks as an eight-point underdog right now, but if word gets out that Johnson will miss the game, expect that to shoot to double digits. This would put an extraordinary load on Josh Smith, who already has to “guard” LeBron James, and he also has to bounce back from Game 2′s terrible showing in which he shot 2-of-13, and he only managed to grab a single rebound. Mike Bibby has been low-key as well. What a bad time to run into injury problems. Stay away from Atlanta’s NBA odds for the rest of the series.

Houston’s NBA odds aren’t any better after their Game 2 loss to the Lakers on Wednesday night, but the best part of it all wasn’t even the confrontation between Ron Artest and Kobe Bryant, or even the tangle between Derek Fisher and Luis Scola, but it was Artest’s post-game interview.

Oh man, so classic. Dude’s talkin’ about people gettin’ stabbed in the chest with table legs. We (old-school sportsbook players) all know the NBA isn’t the game we grew up watching, the one with the “Bad Boys” and the heated Bulls-Knicks/Bulls-Pistons rivalries, but apparently they weren’t nothing compared to what Artest saw in Queensbridge, New York.

I was thinking that there should be some sort of NBA odds on how many, or how long, it would take for Bryant and Artest to get into it. Both are hard-nosed competitors, and Bryant DID elbow Artest in the throat. He shouldn’t have been ejected from the game, even Bryant said so himself, because I think Kobe likes the challenge as proven by his 40-point explosion. They didn’t even make it out of Los Angeles. The NBA odds for another Bryant/Artest square-off? EXCELLENT.

Everyone who is planning to go against the Los Angeles Lakers’ NBA odds because of their 100-92 Game 1 loss at home to Houston: stop, have a beverage, and relax. Everything is fine with the Lake Show.

The Lakers hadn’t played since April 27th, when they wrapped up their five-game series with Utah in the first round. On top of that, Kobe Bryant couldn’t practice prior to the game because of a flu and laryngitis, and it took him 31 shots to get his 32 points. The Lakers were also a terrible 2-of-18 from beyond the arc, and they’re a pretty good three-point shooting team in general. They also struggled from the foul line, going 12-of-19, and Lamar Odom was the biggest culprit, missing five of his six chances from the charity stripe. Any team with good NBA odds are usually good from the foul line, and the Lakers are a good free-throw shooting team, so they should bounce back.

NBA odds still have the Lakers as the favorites to win this series, although the Rockets’ win changed the sportsbook line just a little bit. Expect to see a completely different Lakers team tonight when the two meet for Game 2.

Cleveland have been near the top of the NBA odds all season long, so it was no surprise that LeBron James was awarded the league’s MVP award on Monday at a news conference at his old high school, St. Vincent’s-St. Mary’s High School in Akron, Ohio.

James was the dominant player all season, winning 109 of 121 first-place votes over last year’s winner, Kobe Bryant of the Lakers. The man they’ve labeled “King James” since high school had 28.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 7.2 assists, but the most impressive thing is his defense. James had great NBA odds to win the Defensive Player of the Year award, in which he finished second to Orlando’s Dwight Howard, and he often locked down the other team’s best player, outside of centers. He’s even raised his game in the first round of the players, leading a dismantling of the Detroit Pistons.

NBA odds will probably be tilted towards James for years to come in the MVP race, as he is only 24 years old (how insane is that?). Dwayne Wade of the Miami Heat is probably his biggest competition as Bryant will eventually decline in skill, so the sky is the limit for LeBron. Shoot, I’ll put money on his NBA odds for next year as soon as I can.

The second of the NBA playoffs just got underway yesterday with Denver’s romp over Dallas. Here’s a quick run-through of who you should go with in your US-friendly sportsbook.

Nuggets vs Mavericks – I was already going to pick the Nuggets, who blasted the Mavericks at home and will do so again tomorrow night. Denver is now 5-0 against Dallas at home, and the Mavericks will squeeze out a couple of wins at home. However, they have three players who can guard Dirk Nowitzki, and more importantly, Game 1 showed the Mavs can’t stop Denver in the paint. (basketball betting pick: Denver in six)

Rockets vs Lakers – I’m setting the over/under of Kobe Bryant/Ron Artest staredowns at five. Artest and Shane Battier will share defensive duties on Bryant, while the Andrew Bynum/Yao Ming and Luis Scola/Pau Gasol matchups are also intriguing. The X-factor is Lamar Odom, as the Rockets don’t really have anyone to match up with him. NBA odds have the Lakers as a huge -1200 favorite, and this will be a hotly-contested series. (basketball betting pick: Lakers in five)

Hawks vs Cavaliers – NBA odds have Cleveland as a huge -2500 favorite, and I heard someone say over the week that if the Hawks were to get past Miami, Josh Smith could contain LeBron James. Awesome. Quite possibly the funniest thing I’ve heard this year. Mo Williams needs to be better than he was in the Detroit destruction, while Joe Johnson needs to carry the Hawks on his back for them to have the slightest chance. Atlanta may steal one at home, but not much else. (basketball betting pick: Cavs in five)

Magic vs Celtics – NBA odds have Orlando as a -125 favorite over the defending champions, who are coming off a grueling seven-game classic with Chicago. Paul Pierce looked exhausted near the end of the series while Ray Allen, who is two years older, looked like a 25-year-old jackin’ clutch threes from everywhere. Rajon Rondo won’t be able to have his way in the paint with Dwight Howard in the lane, and D-12 should dominate the Celtics’ interior defense without Kevin Garnett. It was a good run, but the Chicago series may have taken it all out of the Celtics, and the long it goes, the more it’s in Orlando’s favor. (basketball betting pick: Orlando in seven)