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 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.

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)