2007 NBA Playoffs Bodog Odds - Bodog.com Futures Betting

The NBA Regular Season ended last night. Bodog.com updated its 2007 NBA Playoffs Odds this morning. Out are the pretenders like the Los Angeles Clippers. It's down to the sweet sixteen of the National Basketball Association.

Here are the updated odds.

Dallas Mavericks - 7/5
Phoenix Suns - 7/2
San Antonio Spurs - 4/1
Detroit Pistons - 6/1
Miami Heat - 10/1
Cleveland Cavaliers - 14/1
Houston Rockets - 16/1
Chicago Bulls - 17/1
Toronto Raptors - 22/1
Utah Jazz - 35/1
Denver Nuggets - 40/1
Los Angeles Lakers - 60/1
New Jersey Nets - 65/1
Golden State Warriors - 100/1
Orlando Magic - 125/1
Washington Wizards - 150/1

So you don't have to go searching through you local newspaper, here are the playoffs matchups.

EAST

1. Detroit Pistons
2. Cleveland Cavaliers
3. Toronto Raptors
4. Miami Heat
5. Chicago Bulls
6. New Jersey Nets
7. Washington Wizards
8. Orlando Magic

WEST

1. Dallas Mavericks
2. Phoenix Suns
3. San Antonio Spurs
4. Utah Jazz
5. Houston Rockets
6. Denver Nuggets
7. Los Angeles Lakers
8. Golden State Warriors

NBA PLAYOFF BRACKETS

FIRST ROUND MATCHUPS - EASTERN CONFERENCE

Pistons vs. Magic
Heat vs. Bulls

Cavaliers vs. Wizards
Raptors vs. Nets

FIRST ROUND MATCHUPS - WESTERN CONFERENCE

Mavericks vs. Warriors
Jazz vs. Rockets

Suns vs. Lakers
Spurs vs. Nuggets

EASTERN CONFERENCE ANALYSIS

Once again, you have to give the Eastern Conference Champion better odds than you would think. The East is a far inferior conference, but its champion has won 2 of the last 3 NBA titles. One of these teams will make it, giving that team a 1-in-2 shot at winning the title.

The Pistons look like the best team in the East by far. That explains their odds. But I think Detroit is still a little vulnerable. If you are looking for a real dark horse, let me direct you to Cleveland.

This is my classic pick. Okay, I don't think Lebron has the team around him yet. But look at the Cleveland bracket. They Cavs play the Wizards in Round 1, as close to a patsy matchup as possible. A couple of months ago, the Wizards would have been a dangerous opponent for anybody. But with Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler out, the Wizards are finished. No team can lose two All-Star level players and do well in the playoffs.

On top of that, the Cavs get the winner of the Raptors/Nets series in the second round. The Raptors are young and Chris Bosh is making his first trip to the playoffs. The Nets are the picture of an also-ran. So the Cavs have an easy run to the conference finals, where they play the winner of the likely Pistons/Heat series. That should be brutal, and either team coming out should have an emotional hangover. I'm not saying the Cavs are going to the finals or anything, but they do have the easiest road to the finals of any of the top seeds.

The Miami Heat made a late push to get to the #4 seed. Despite being 5 games behind the Bulls, they get the home court advantage in their first round series. That was a competitive series last year, so I imagine the inclusion of Ben Wallace, P.J. Brown and Tyrus Thomas gives the Bulls a much better shot this time around. Of course, the Heat's chances depend on whether Dwyane Wade (yes, that's the correct spelling) comes back from injury.

The Heat have to go through the Bulls, Pistons and Cavs in three successive series. Then they have to beat the West champ. So I imagine the deck is stacked against them. With Wade slowed by injury, they will get tripped up somewhere along the way. If you are betting East, go with Detroit or Cleveland.

WESTERN CONFERENCE ANALYSIS

The West is going to be brutal. For the first time in my memory, every single one of the first round match ups are going to have intrigue. I'm assuming the Mavericks, Suns and Spurs dispatch their foes fairly quickly, but those aren't the usual schlubs in the lower seeds.

The Mavericks finished with a 67-15 record, one of only six teams to ever finish with that record. But they play the Warriors, who swept Dallas in the season series. Plus they have wacky ole Don Nelson coaching against his old team. He'll roll out a 6'8" center in Al Harrington and challenge the Mavs to adjust.

The Suns have a rematch with Kobe and the Lakers. Los Angeles made this series more difficult than expected last year, and Kobe is better this year than last. Of course, the Suns have Amare Stodamire in the lineup this year. It's going to be uphill sledding for the Lakers, but I imagine Kobe single-handedly wins a game or two with 50 or 55 points. The downside is, the Lakers will probably lose a game with Kobe scoring 50, too.

The Spurs and Nuggets intrigues me more than most San Antonio series. Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson will join forces to go for the upset. It's offense versus defense. Of course, defense will win in the end, but I have to admit to a certain morbid curiosity to see A.I. and 'Melo under fire.

The Jazz and Rockets series should be as close as they come. Everyone assumes the Rockets have the better talent, but the Jazz are just a tough-nosed team. Jerry Sloan has been producing teams like this for twenty years. I honestly don't know which of these teams has the advantage here. Ask me in two games, I guess.

Coloring the chances of the Spurs and Suns is that they have an early playoff showdown in Round 2. This means they will have a close to 50-50 showdown, then probably have a 50-50 showdown in the conference finals. Then they play the Pistons (or whoever wins the East) for the title. Betting either of these teams should be done only if you think they are a team of destiny.

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2007 NBA Playoffs Bodog Odds - Bodog.com Futures Betting