So, the online betting season for NBA fans tipped off on Tuesday with a massive matchup between two of the title contenders, Boston and Cleveland. How did these two fare in Game No.1?

The Cavs got off to a quick start in the first quarter before the Celtics’ veteran experience kicked in, and they outscored Cleveland 30-17 in the second quarter. The Boston reserves outscored their counterparts 26-10, thanks in large part to Rasheed Wallace, who notched 12 in his debut. The pickup of Wallace is seen to be a boost to the Celtics’ NBA odds, as he can spell Kevin Garnett, who had 13 points and 10 boards. Paul Pierce has 23 and 11 boards to lead the way for the Celtics.

How about the Cavs, one of the trendy sportsbook picks this year? It was similar to last year. LeBron James had 38 and eight assists, but the next highest Cav was Mo Williams with 12, and he was only 3-of-8 from the field. Shaquille O’Neal had 10 and 10 in his Cleveland debut, and that’s all they really need from him. But they need secondary scoring, preferably from Williams and Anthony Parker.

So, what can we take away from this game? Not much. It’s the first game in a long, long season. All we know is, these two will be there at the end of the season, and this is just a prelude to a rivalry that’s gone from budding to full-on.

PS: I’m going to throw in World Series picks as much as I can. Take the Yankees in Game 1. Sabathia edges Lee in a pitcher’s duel, while Cleveland Indians fans slit their wrists.

Oklahoma City’s NBA odds are awful in the first place, but then, Henry Abbott came out with an column on ESPN that said Kevin Durant is hurting his team. Okay, here goes:

I’m not going to look at the numbers, because I’m sure they’re all very pretty and Abbott probably did a lot of research, but really? Kevin Durant hurting the Thunder? The kid averaged 25.3 points and 6.5 boards last year, and I’m pretty sure there is no way to quantify the load that Durant had to carry last year. You know: pretty much an entire franchise on the back of a 21-year-old (then 20). Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook are great wingmen, but they couldn’t carry the team like Durant, who is moving up the sportsbook ranks as an MVP candidate.

Let’s not even mention that he makes going to a Thunder game worth the price per head (most of the time, anyway). Durant does more for that franchise than what is shown in the box scores and stats (and he fills those, too). So if you see Henry Abbott out and about, don’t let him make any of your sports picks for you.

Since NBA betting season is upon us, and the preseason is underway, we’re going to look at…..a feud between LeBron James and a football player.

James has been busy over the summer, pushing his documentary “More Than A Game” (shouldn’t you win a title first before making a documentary?) and making a guest appearance on “Entourage” (which was understated and funny). But he also found time to get into a little trouble, indirectly. Cleveland Browns’ wide receiver Braylon Edwards is being accused of punching James’ friend at a nightclub, and James called Edwards “childish”, stating that Edwards must be jealous of him and his friends.

Shoot, why wouldn’t he? Edwards plays for a team that you couldn’t pay people to bet on in your offshore sportsbook. James has great hands, Edwards drops more than he catches. Edwards doesn’t have a movie out. It would be funny to see Edwards and James fight, although I’m betting management of the Cavs fail to see the humor in it.

Nothing will happen here, and everything will be fine….except for Edwards, who continues to be a part of a squad whose Super Bowl odds were flushed before they started.

While going over my NFL Week 2 betting odds, I ran across a report that said Golden State coach Don Nelson is keeping Stephen Jackson as captain of the Warriors, despite Jackson’s request to be traded to a contender.

Now, I love Stephen Jackson. I think he’s a great pickup for a team than needs a veteran presence already intact. He’s won a championship with San Antonio, and he’s proven that he’s still productive. But this is one year after he signed a contract extension for three years, worth $28 million. What’s the market like for a 31-year-old (who will be 32 in April) who is earning $7.7 million, and his salary goes up each year? Probably not that good considering that most teams are waiting to next summer’s free-agent blowout. Teams feel if they’re planning to spend that kind of money, they’ll do it on a younger player, which in all likelihood raises their online betting chances (unless you’re Boston).

I hope the Warriors do something to improve, because I think Jackson and the Warriors deserve each other. They should have never let go of Baron Davis, but that’s neither here nor there. Those two made paying and watching Golden State games worth the price per head, and I think he just misses having Davis there to share the leadership role. I didn’t plan on it in the first place, but when stuff like this comes up, it’s best to avoid putting these kind of teams in your sports picks.

Not like they’ll have great online betting odds anyway, but Minnesota’s Ricky Rubio saga is over (we think), and much like the last couple of years, it didn’t work out in their favor.

Rubio decided to sign with FC Barcelona (yes, they have a basketball program to go with their Champions League Betting winner of a soccer team), and won’t be over in the United States for at least two years, when he can buy out of his contract for a much-smaller fee than the one he had with his old club, DKV Joventut. He says that he didn’t wawnt to complicate his life, and the 19-year-old may have a point. Would YOU want to leave Spain for Minnesota? Shoot, I’d love to be in his position for soccer tickets alone, much less the weather. He still has to fill out a bit, and remember, when he gets over here, he’ll be at the ripe old age of 21.

Now, the flip side is, we’re betting management of the Timberwolves aren’t holding the point-guard spot open for Rubio, and they proved that by drafting Jonny Flynn with the very next pick in the draft. He could become a valuable trading chip for the Timberwolves. Also, the hype for Rubio was over-the-top before the draft. Now that all of this has gone down, if he’s not the second coming of Magic Johnson and Pistol Pete Maravich, there’s gonna be a lot of “I told you so” from his critics. Still, all signs point to him being improved in two years, and it should be a much-needed shot to some team’s offshore sportsbook odds.

While I’m not anticipating it like I am the UFC 102 fight card that takes place next weekend, I am excited to see Jason Williams back in the NBA. “White Chocolate” signed with the Orlando Magic on Wednesday, probably as a backup to Jameer Nelson. Williams was on the Miami team that won the championship in 2006, so he adds some championship experience to a team that lost in the Finals just this year.

Williams (who played high school baskeball with Randy Moss) began his career as a flashy point guard with Sacramento, where he would shoot from anywhere, anytime. He defnitely mellowed out as he got older, and his numbers of 11.4 points and 6.3 assists are pretty decent. He’s a great addition to the Magic squad and should boost their betting online chances a little bit. But I would love for the old Williams to raise his head every once in a while. The lobs to Dwight Howard will be seen on a certain sports betting blog, I can guarantee it.

Sorry about the Michelle Branch, there’s a time and place for that, and this ain’t it.

And I’m back y’all, it’s been a minute, it’s slow in basketball over the summer as most handicappers are focusing on their NFL betting odds. But this bit of news got me up and ready for the upcoming hoops betting season.

Allen Iverson tweeted (god, that’s gonna be a tiring term) that he’s waiting on a call from New York, Miami or Charlotte. The Knicks would be a decent fit, as they play little to no defense, shoot first, ask questions later (or never). He may be a boost to the Heat if you’re betting online, or he could turn out to be a huge detriment if he can’t put his ego aside and realize that it’s Dwayne Wade’s team. But the Bobcats? Oh hell yeah. Iverson and Larry Brown were ready to kill each other in Philadelphia, but Iverson famously cried in an interview when a tape was played that featured Brown saying positive things about the “Answer”. Team chemistry may suffer a bit (just ask the Pistons), but for pure entertainment value, there isn’t a duo that needs to reunite more than Allen Iverson and Larry Brown. Shoot, we may get a “Practice?”, Part 2. And let’s face it: would betting software recommend Charlotte to you anyway?

Perhaps in an effort to increase Orlando’s betting chances, it’s been reported that Rashard Lewis has been suspended for the first 10 games of the season for using DHEA, a multi-functional steroid which has been banned by many leagues, including the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Well, at least we know that NBA players do, in fact, do other drugs outside of smoking weed. The surprise here is that it’s Lewis, who’s never really got in any trouble and would probably be the last person you’d think of if this was an offshore sportsbook prop. It’s supposed to buld muscle, but, um…..have you seen Rashard Lewis lately? Dude’s not exactly Arnold Schwarznegger. He must not be using it right.

We’re betting management of the Magic must be THRILLED over this.

While I know it’s not as exciting as the UFC 101 fight card coming this week (picks coming later in the week), the NBA has released its schedule for the year. Things to watch out for:

October 27 – Shaq makes his Cleveland debut when the Cavaliers host Boston. Some LeBron James guy may show up, and the Celtics will be out to prove they’re not that old yet.

November 11 – Remembrance Day will be easy to remember for NBA fans: Shaq and Cleveland hit Orlando, and it’ll be interesting to see if he has anything to say about Dwight Howard or the “Master of Panic”, Stan Van Gundy, who was busy coaching the Finals while Shaq was off doing something non-basketball related.

December 25 – Five games, but all eyes will be Los Angeles when the Cavs meet the Lakers in a possible betting preview of the NBA Finals. If anyone can remember the last time that a Christmas Day game that didn’t feature either Kobe or Shaq, that would be awesome.

February 18 – Celtics/Lakers…do I even need to talk this up?

March 7 – Lakers/Magic….second meeting of the season between last year’s Finalists, and sportsbook software puts the over/under for amount of “Kobe reflects on the Finals win” segments at five, down from 37 in the first meeting of the year.

April 11 – Magic/Cavs, Trailblazers/Lakers…..good luck making sports picks on this day.

Word is that the Timberwolves’ betting chances are taking a hit with each day Ricky Rubio stays in Spain. Of course, they weren’t that high to begin with, but having Rubio in the fold would help a lot, both on the court and off, where they could raise the price per head of a ticket…just a little, though.

Now Rubio is saying that he wants to leave Spain regardless of whether he can pay the $8.2 million buyout that is in his contract with DKV Joventut or not. The Timberwolves can only contribute $500,000 to that buyout, leaving Rubio between a rock and a hard place. It’s doubtful he can return to Joventut after all that has gone on (think of the Dany Heatley saga currently going on the NHL), and it appears that Real Madrid and Barcelona are ready to step in and offer him a place to play if he doesn’t make it to the NBA.

(Side note: it’s funny to see Madrid and Barca’s names being mentioned with basketball instead of soccer, but we know Madrid has the money after they bought Cristiano Ronaldo for the price of a good-sized country)

So, will the kid really have an impact in your offshore sportsbook? Well, you can judge for yourself in the following video. I do know that I was impressed by what I saw of him in Beijing, and the Americans were very complimentary towards him. At least if he’s with Minnesota, I wouldn’t take watching paint dry over watching the ,Northbet favorite, Timberwolves. Still not making them one of my sports picks, though.