Game one of the NBA’s Eastern Conference Finals saw the Boston Celtics get out front early and ride to a seemingly easy victory.  Boston is at home again and is again favored to win.  The Pistons have to be desperate to pick up a win on Thursday night as it will be terribly difficult for them to recover from a 2-0 deficit.  If current trends continue, the Celtics will win Thursday, Detroit will win the next two of the series, and the Celtics will win game seven in Boston.  I think the numbers have to catch up, it just isn’t clear yet who they will catch up to.  Looking at the regular season results, you have to think that the Celtics have what it takes to win on the road, they just haven’t proven they can do it in the playoffs.  The Pistons have a great deal of motivation for the game, but they haven’t done anything to impress me enough to think they can win in Boston.  Thursday might be the night that home teams take a turn for the worse and finally stop the domination of the NBA Playoffs, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

Here are the odds for Thursday Night’s NBA Eastern Conference Playoff - Game 2 as posted at Sportsbook.com :

Detroit Pistons @ Boston Celtics -3.5

Popularity: 12% [?]

Now it’s time to get down to business.  The Pistons and Celtics made it through the rest of the Eastern playoff field, and Tuesday night they meet in Boston to start their mutual quest for the coveted Eastern Conference slot in the NBA Finals.  The Celtics have the hype, the Pistons have the experience.  Will Boston live up to the expectations or do the Pistons have another title run in them?  Tough questions to answer, but we’ll give them a try for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals Tuesday Night.

5/20/2008 - Detroit Pistons @ Boston Celtics
You’ve heard it before, “To be the best, you have to beat the best”, and that’s exactly what the Detroit Pistons are going to have to do to push themselves into the NBA Finals.  Boston is incredibly tough at home.  Combined with the ridiculous winning trend that home teams are having in the playoffs this year, I don’t see how you can rationally take the Pistons in Game 1.  The game will be a good barometer for the rest of the series, particularly because Boston has the edge with 4 home games to Detroit’s 3.  I think Boston has finally turned a corner.  Instead of expecting to win, they have the confidence to win, and a chip on their shoulder to prove they are as good as everyone thinks they are.
Free NBA Playoff Pick:  Boston Celtics -4.5

Popularity: 11% [?]

Detroit Pistons (44-16) @ Boston Celtics (46-12)
7:30PM EST
The best two teams in the NBA’s Eastern Conference meet tonight in Boston for their second showdown of the season.  Before the Celtics made trades that brought Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to the team, Detroit absolutely dominated them.  With a win earlier this year in Detroit the Celtics ended what was a nine-game winning streak for the Pistons in this series.  Now that Boston has the talent to keep up with the Pistons they are certainly out for revenge.  Not many franchises are dominated so prominently as the Celtics have been by the Pistons, but, as Boston has proven, the tides are starting to turn.  The Celtics are riding high and on a five-game winning streak and that momentum should carry them to a victory.  Detroit recently finished up a four-game road trip, mostly near the West Coast, hit one game against Seattle at home (a game they nearly lost, mind you, to one of the worst teams in the NBA), and now head over to Boston to clash with the Celtics with there NBA-best 46-12 record.  At this point in the season, on a neutral court or in Detroit I would probably give the edge to the Pistons.  Their defensive numbers are more consistent than Boston’s, they rebound on the offensive and defensive glass more effectively, they don’t turn the ball over as much, and they have a deeper bench than Boston.  The fact of the matter is, however, that the Celtics have been nearly invincible on their home court, earning a 26-4 mark, one of the top home-records in the league.  For all of Detroit’s strengths, the Celtics have something they do not and that is the ability to score from anywhere on the court.  Boston dominates in terms of points-per-game, and field goal and free throw percentage.  All of those things are nice, but I believe that the outcome of this game comes down to Boston’s home court advantage plus the fact that they were able to beat Detroit earlier this year, in Detroit no less, to finally break their losing streak against the Pistons.

NBA Pick:  Boston Celtics -4

Popularity: 9% [?]

Good Morning!  There’s so much NBA action going on tonight that we are going to post lines on every game available at press, plus give our pick for each match-up.  My favorite games tonight are Spurs/Wizards and Lakers/Hawks.  I’m taking the big-dogs in both games, the Spurs over the Wizards and the Lakers over the Hawks.  Those are the only two games I’m really big on tonight, the rest should be considered “leans” or strong opinions, not full picks.  Good Luck!

NBA Odds by SportsBook.com

San Antonio Spurs @ Washington Wizards +5.5
Pick:  San Antonio Spurs -5.5

L.A. Lakers @ Atlanta Hawks +7
Pick:  L.A. Lakers -7

New Jersey Nets @ Orlando Magic -11
Pick:  New Jersey Nets +11

Miami Heat @ Detroit Pistons -16
Pick:  Detroit Pistons -16

Seattle Super Sonics @ Sacramento Kings -9.5
Pick:  Seattle Super Sonics +9.5

New Orleans Hornets @ Phoenix Suns -6
Pick:  Phoenix Suns -6

Chicago Bulls @ Portland Trail Blazers -6
Pick: Portland Trail Blazers -6

Popularity: 11% [?]

Orlando Magic (27-17) @ Detroit Pistons (30-13)
7:00PM EST - 1/25/2008
Friday night two of the best teams in the NBA’s Eastern conference square off as the Detroit Pistons host the Orlando Magic.  Having the home court definitely works in Detroit’s favor as they are 14-4 in home games this year, but you also have to consider that the Magic have been awesome on the road this season.  So where can we find an edge?  The Magic are an offensive-oriented team, the Pistons are more of a defensive, physical team.  Normally, you’d use the old adage, “Defense wins championships”, but in this case you have to look past the pure defensive numbers and look at things like rebounding, which Orlando has a huge advantage in, especially with Dwight Howard playing in his break-through season and rebounding like a man possessed.  I just think that 7.5 points is too much for this marquee match-up.    (more…)

Popularity: 8% [?]

Detroit Pistons (29-13) @ Philadelphia 76ers (16-26)
7:00PM EST - 1/23/2008
The Pistons shoot well from the line, play great defense, don’t turn the ball over, plus they score a lot of points.  Sorry, Philly, tonight isn’t your night.  Detroit comes in as a 6.5 point favorite, but that should not be very much of a factor considering the huge gap in production and talent these teams have.  You don’t have to look far beyond the raw stats to see this.  The Pistons have won 9 of their last 10 against the 76ers, and they’ve managed to cover the spread in 6 of their last 9 (that 10th game was a push if you were wondering).  Detroit’s starting 5 is the best overall, well-rounded bunch in the league.  Throw that in with the fact that the Pistons (and this is true for nearly the last decade) play nearly as well on the road as they do at home - 15-9.

Free NBA Pick:  Detroit Pistons -6.5

Houston Rockets (22-19) @ Seattle Super Sonics (9-32)
10:00PM EST - 1/23/2008
The Sonics are awful, just awful.  Durant is good, which everyone pretty much expected.  But 19 points a game isn’t making much of an impact on a team that’s average score is 96-105.  I don’t think I need to tell you which side of that score is Seattle’s.  All isn’t ideal in Houston with Steve Francis out indefinitely, but Yao Ming continues to be a force in the association and the rest of the team has been holding it together surprisingly well.  They are still winning games and looking like a team that could compete for the playoffs if they can pull it all together while their second best scorer is out.  Look, Seattle has lost 11 in a row and showing no signs of improvement.  They are 5-13 at home for goodness-sake.  Houston at anything less than -10 would be a gift!

Free NBA Pick:  Houston Rockets -5.5

Well, guess it’s about time for me to be hittin’ the old dusty trail.  That’ll do it for Wednesday night in the NBA.  Check back soon.  Leave comments.  You know you want to.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Detroit Pistons (29-12) @ Orlando Magic (25-17)
7:00PM EST
The Detroit Pistons have always been a good traveling team and this year is no different.  Their 15-8 record on the road is one of the better marks in the league.  The Pistons simply have Orlando’s number.  They’ve won 9 in a row against the Magic and have covered the spread in 7 of those 9 games.  Don’t get me wrong, Orlando is a good team this year, much better than I expected them to be, but they aren’t quite the overall team that Detroit is.  Our lone play in the NBA today comes on the Detroit Pistons as they visit Orlando Monday night.

Free NBA Tip Monday:  Detroit Pistons -3

Popularity: 7% [?]

Nothing huge today, just a pair of NBA leans. 

The Chicago Bulls are in a bit of disarray.  They fired their coach and the new coach doesn’t have much control over his team.  With the Bulls discombobulated we like the Detroit Pistons to win easily.

NBA Tip:  Detroit Pistons -6

Portland remains hot and we are going to continue to ride them until they show us they don’t deserve it! 

NBA Tip: Portland Trail Blazers +4.5

Good Luck Saturday!  Comments welcome!

Popularity: 8% [?]