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Nuggets vs. Lakers Series Tidbits

- The Nuggets are playing with the confidence and swagger of a team that can win this series.  They have lost only two games the entire playoffs, and those losses have come by a total of 3 points against two teams that were not gimmes by any stretch of the imagination

- With that being said, there has been a definite adjustment in the odds that that they do so, as we probably could have had about +350 on them about 10 days or two weeks ago, but the Lakers' struggles against a shorthanded Rockets team has the whole world backing Denver here. 

-  Carmelo Anthony gets most of the headlines for Denver, but in my opinion Chauncy Billups is their most important player with the resurgence of Nene pushing them into the league's elite.  Billups is shooting an otherworldly 54% from 3 FG in these playoffs, with 73 assists and just 17 turnovers.  Nene has really improved his interior defense to go along with 12.5 ppg and 7.3 rpg he is averaging in the postseason.  The Nuggets bench may be the league's best and plays at an extremely high energy level.

- For the Lakers, I believe the key is their point guard rotation of Derek Fisher, Shannon Brown, and Jordon Farmar.  All 3 have had their moments in these playoffs but Phil Jackson seems to have trouble figuring out which one it could be on any given night.  They will need to play well on both ends against Chauncey Billups for the Lakers to win this. 

- Series Prediction:  Lakers in 7.  I'll show a little faith in Kobe Bryant here, although this team still seems to have that feel that they will come up short in crunchtime.  They can't afford to play with the lack of energy that has been apparent thus far in the playoffs.  The Nuggets are the league's second or third best team without a doubt right now, and Anthony and Billups seem to thrive under pressure, making big shot after big shot when it counts.  I would only play Denver if the price would get pushed up to 250+ before gametime (I don't believe it will as the whole world seems to be on them right now).  I would only take the current price if I planned on parlaying the winnings into a finals bet with the hope of getting a price better than the juicy 8-1 on the Nuggets to win it all.  This team is good enough to take both the Lakers and Cavs to the wire. 

Magic vs. Cavs Series Tidbits

- I predicted Cleveland to win it all this season after they acquired Mo Williams in the offseason, and they certainly haven't dissapointed winning the NBA's regular season crown and posting a perfect 8-0 mark in the playoffs winning all 8 games by double digits. 

- With that being said, the Cavs road to the semis has been ridiculously easy, as the Pistons were easily the worst team in the playoffs, and Atlanta had 3 quality starters playing through injury or missing time during that series.   They also struggle mightily with Orlando, losing 2 out of 3 meetings and 4 out of the last over 2 seasons with all 4 of those losses coming by double digits!  The Magic have covered 10 of the last 11 meetings between the two teams. 

-  The key for the Cavs in this series is to find a third scorer to compliment Lebron James and Mo Williams.  Orlando is the league's #1 ranked team in defensive efficiency and after struggling early on against a versatile Boston offense, they absolutely suffocated the Celtics in the last two games to the tune of 82 and 83 points.  In Cleveland's 3 losses vs. Orlando this season, Lebron was an ugly, uncharacteristic 23- 69 from the floor. 

- For Orlando, this may sound funny, but I believe they want Lebron to take the shots for Cleveland.  If he is going for 35-40 a game but needs 30+ shots game in and go out to do it, I believe Orlando has a big, big chance in this series.  They also need Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis to bring it game in and game out, and not just on occasion as they are matchup problems for the Cavs. 

- Series Prediction: Cavs in 6.  Recommended Series Play: Magic + 500 or better
Cleveland had a mere 16 losses on the season and 2 of them came against Orlando.  There is obvious matchup problems here and it is extremely rare to get a team that can defend like Orlando can at a price like this.  Lebron can truly take his place among the league's greats with a title here, but it must be noted he did not play particularly well against Orlando this season or in either of the two series that eliminated the Cavs the last two seasons ('07 Spurs, '08 Celtics).  He is a much better player now with a better supporting cast, so I believe he will get through to the finals, but it won't be as easy as most think.  In all honesty, 7 games would not shock, and I expect AT LEAST 6 hard fought contests. 

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