Super Bowl betting lines will be on fire this weekend as the NFL season wraps up in Dallas, but there are a few hoops matchups to check out this weekend, especially on the dayof the big game.

Lakers Hornets Betting – Saturday, 8:00 PM ET

The Hornets should be favored at home, but the Lakers could be as they’re a heavy public team who gets by on being the Lakers. Los Angeles is 3-2 SU and ATS in their last five trips to New Orleans, where the Hornets are 13-12 ATS, while the Lakers are 11-12 ATS away from the Staples Center.

Clippers Heat Betting – Sunday, 12:00 PM ET

The Heat will definitely be the NBA betting favorites in this contest, but they’re only 3-2 SU in their last five at home against the Clippers, sporting a 2-3 ATS mark as well. All five of those games have gone over the posted total, and it could once again as these teams are explosive with the likes of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Blake Griffin running up and down the floor. The Heat are 8-14-1 ATS at home, while the Clippers are 8-9-1 ATS on the road.

Magic Celtics Betting – Sunday, 2:30 PM ET

The Celtics will be the home favorites in this East showdown, and they’re 3-2 SU at home in their last five meetings with the Magic, with a 2-2-1 ATS record in that time. The Celtics are 10-13-2 ATS at TD Banknorth Garden, while Orlando is 9-15-1 ATS on the road, so this could be a tough pick when

you go to your favorite online betting sites.

NFL betting players only have one matchup on Christmas Day, and it’s not even that good, so they should make their way over to the NBA portion of their sportsbook for a full slate of games. Here are tips for three of the five Christmas Day matchups.

Bulls Knicks Betting (Saturday, 12:00 PM ET)

The Knicks should be favored in this clash of two teams making their way up the Eastern Conference ranks, and they’re 3-2 SU and ATS in their last five at Madison Square Garden against the Bulls, who are 9-4 ATS on the road. The Knicks are 7-6-1 ATS at home this season.

Celtics Magic Betting (Saturday, 2:30 PM ET)

The Celtics should be favored on the road in Orlando, where they are 3-2 SU and 4-1 ATS in their last five trips. Boston is 9-4 ATS away from home in 2010, while the Magic are 6-8-1 ATS at Amway Arena. Both teams have issues (Boston with injuries, Orlando with new players), but they’ll want to make a statement in this matchup of Eastern Conference powers.

Heat Lakers Betting (Saturday, 5:00 PM ET)

The Lakers should be favored at home on Christmas Day, and they’ve played on this day every year since 1999 (this is Kobe Bryant’s 13^th Christmas game). The Lakers are 5-8 ATS at home, while the Heat are 9-6 ATS on the road. There will be a ton of star power at the Staples Center, and the Heat will be out to show they can push the champions. You should be watching this game whether you’re a betting player or not.

Those betting on NFL odds are seeing their season come to an end, but things are just heating up in the NBA, where the favorites are separating themselves, and a couple of darkhorses are gaining steam.

The Favorites

The Lakers and Miami are the favorites at +175 and +275, respectively, and the Heat are starting to figure out how to play as a team, which doesn’t bode well for the rest of the East. The Lakers went through a mini-slump, but they’re not going anywhere. Boston is probably the team to beat in the East at +300, while Orlando at +500 has yet to put it all together, and San Antonio at +800 is definitely a factor in the West.

The Rest

Two darkhorses to watch are Dallas at +1800, and Chicago at +2000. The Mavericks have won 11 in a row right now, even though they seem to do this early in the season every year, but they’ve got a deep bench that will help them as the season goes along, meaning they don’t have to depend on Dirk Nowitzki so much. In Chicago, the Bulls are assembling a team for the future, and they could be this year’s version of Oklahoma City. Derrick Rose is taking the step that Kevin Durant took last year, and Carlos Boozer is finally healthy and working himself into game shape, which gives the Bulls a double-double threat down low. If the Bulls can get it together, they could be worth a sports bet.

NBA championship odds aren’t giving Orlando much credit against the Lakers, but they were the underdogs against Cleveland and Boston, and looks who is still playing? The Magic may be getting even more help, but it’s uncertain whether it’s needed or not.

Jameer Nelson tore his labrum just before he was able to play in his first All-Star game, and he was largely credited with the Magic’s ascent in the East. The Magic have gotten by without him, picking up Rafer Alston from Houston just before the trade deadline, and he’s been crucial to Orlando’s NBA odds during this run, including a game against the Cavaliers in which he was unconscious from beyond the arc.

Players looking for betting management advice are waiting to see if the Magic clear Nelson to play, and the worry is that he’ll mess with the chemistry that Orlando has built with Alston in the lineup. Clearly, Nelson is a better player than Alston, but the Magic have gotten used to Alston over the last four months, and it may not be the right time to put him in the lineup. Nelson lit up the Lakers for 27.5 points in Orlando’s two wins over the Lakers during the regular season, but he surely won’t be 100%, timing-wise anyway, and to jump into a playoff series cold when the intensity is high is tough enough, but in the Finals? Nelson, and the Magic’s NBA championship odds, may be better served sitting this one out.