Well, Orlando didn’t beat the NBA Finals odds of 6.5 points against the Lakers in Game 3, but they certainly made it interesting with a record-setting performance.

The Magic shot a Finals-record 62.5% from the floor, including an insane 75% in the first half, of their 108-104 victory, and as I said, the guard play would be crucial. Rafer Alston, after being shook by Jameer Nelson’s return to the lineup, dropped 20 points of 8-of-12 shooting, while Mickael Pietrus woke up to score 18 off the bench for the Magic. It was obvious from the beginning that the Magic were much more comfortable at home than they were in L.A., as noticed by their shooting and lack of turnovers, and they managed to make a series out of a matchup that many of those who bet on sports thought was over.

The Lakers still should have won this game, but 10 missed foul shots and an uncharacteristic performance by Kobe Bryant down the stretch sealed the Lakers’ fate. Although Bryant had 31, he missed 11 of his last 15 shots, missed five of those free throws, and he had a couple of late turnovers that killed his team. Pau Gasol added 23 for the Lakers, who are still the favorites in your offshore sportsbook to take the series.

Game 4 should be a barnburner, as the Lakers will want to put Game 3 behind them (especially Bryant), and the Magic will hope they can shoot like they did on Tuesday. If they can’t, their NBA Finals odds are in a world of trouble.

NBA Finals odds are giving Orlando a chance to get back in the series when it goes back to Orlando, but they’ll need much-better guard play than they received in Los Angeles.

Lakers Magic odds - Tuesday, June 9, 9:00 PM ET

Simply put, the Magic guards were awful in the first two games of the series, and Courtney Lee’s missed (and open) layup at the end of regulation of Game 2’s 101-96 overtime loss sums up the way Orlando’s guards have started. Lee and Rafer Alston were a combined 2-of-11 for six points, and they never pressured the Lakers’ guards.  Shoot, even Derek Fisher outscored them by himself with 12 points.

You gotta be good to be lucky, and the Lakers earned some luch when Lee missed that last-second alley-oop. Kobe Bryant dropped 29 points, while Pau Gasol added 24 points and 10 boards, but the Lakers also earned their luck on the defensive end of the floor, forcing 20 Orlando turnovers. Also, Lamar Odom outscored the entire Orlando bench by himself with 19 points.

NBA odds are backing the Magic by four points at home, and their supporting cast, particularly their guards, will play better at Amway Arena. Also, Odom won’t play that well on the road (unless he eats a bowl of Skittles for breakfast again). Look for Bryant to go into “Black Mamba” mode when his teammates tighten up in Orlando, which gives the nod to the Magic. 

Lakers Magic odds pick: Orlando

Well, if the Magic were a Belmont Stakes betting option, they definitely pulled up lame out of the gate. 

Lakers Magic betting - Lakers -6.5, Sunday, June 5, 9:00 PM ET

The Magic were beaten all over the court in a 100-75 mauling at the hands of the Lakers, as they shot 29.9% from the field, and were outrebounded 55-41. Mickael Pietrus was the high scorer with 14 points off the bench, but the Magic’s big three of Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu were a combined 6-of-27 from the field. Orlando was also 8-of-23 from beyond the arc, which is their key to the series. Jameer Nelson made his return but didn’t really do much,  adding six points and four assists in 23 minutes.

For the Lakers, it was all Kobe, all day. Bryant had a game-high 40 points to go with eight boards and eight assists, with 18 points coming in the third quarter to put the Magic away. Pau Gasol had 16 and eight boards for the Lakers, who usually look to get everyone involved, but when your star is feeling it like Kobe was, you gotta let him go.

NBA Finals odds are backing the Lakers by 6.5 points to take a 2-0 series lead to Orlando, and this game will be much, much closer. The Magic looked like a deer in headlights on Thursday, and now the nerves are out of their system. Bryant likely won’t go for 40 again, but he knew how important it was for the Lakers to win Game 1, as the Magic won the first game of their series with both Boston and Cleveland. The Magic will make it closer, but the Lakers just want it more.

Lakers Magic betting pick: Lakers to cover

Still going over tonight’s NBA Finals odds, and I’m sticking with my “Lakers won’t cover” pick. Something tells me Orlando will shoot the lights out, but fall just short. 

Speaking of falling short, who are the best players to go ringless in a sterling career? I wonder who would get the last shot on this team. I’m going with the point guard.

C - Patrick Ewing

The big man who was the face of the Knicks for so long ran into the problem that so many other teams had: Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. When he finally got to the Finals (when Jordan “retired”), Ewing’s Knicks were beaten in seven games by Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets in 1994. He’s now an assistant coach with the Magic, tutoring Dwight Howard.

PF - Karl Malone

This was probably the closest of all the positions, as Malone edged out Charles Barkley. Malone won a pair of MVPs and went to two Finals, but they were beaten by Jordan and the Bulls, who probably would have been a Belmont Stakes betting favorite if they tried. He also tried to win a ring with the Lakers, and failed befiore retiring in 2005.

SF - Bernard King 

King beat out Dominique Wilkins and LeBron James for this spot (the James thing was just funny to me…way to spoil this year’s NBA championship odds, Cleveland), and he never really came close to the Finals, but there aren’t many better “pure” scorers than King. He’s 22nd on the all-time scoring list.

SG - Pete Maravich

The first truly “flashy” player, “Pistol Pete” is the highest-scoring college player of all-time (without a three-point line, might I add), and he made the All-NBA team in 1976 and 1978. The players on the “And 1″ tour would be jealous of Maravich, as he did his moves in games where people actually played defense against him.

PG - John Stockton

The other half of the Stockton/Malone duo in Utah, Stockton is the all-time leader in assists and steals by a wide margin, and he may have been the toughest point guard to ever play the game with his legendary elbows and screens. He’ll go into the Hall of Fame this year, and if Deron Williams can be even half as good as Stockton, the Jazz could have decent NBA Finals odds in the future.

Looks like I’ll have to make a different French Open finals betting pick. Thanks, Serena.

I picked the Lakers to win the NBA finals, but it won’t be easy. The Magic opened their meetings with Boston and Cleveland on the road, and came away with a win to steal homecourt advantage. This takes pressure off them, because you lose the first game, the second game virtually becomes a must-win. They also have won their last two trips to Los Angles, but they’re still a 6-point favorite at the Staples Center tomorrow night according to NBA Finals odds. 

The Lakers have won eight of their 10 playoff games at home, where the supporting cast plays much better, and it doesn’t become a shotfest from Kobe Bryant. The Lakers will have to do a better job on the Magic’s three-point gunners, who shot 42.9% from long distance in a 109-103 victory in Los Angeles in January. Dwight Howard went off for 25 points and 20 boards, but the Lakers and their NBA odds stand a much better chance of winning if they can keep the likes of Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu and Rafer Alston quiet. 

No one, myself included, have given the Magic much credit during the playoffs. Think that’s not fueling them? 

NBA championship odds pick: Lakers to win, but not to cover

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.

….another secondary scorer. Preferably one that doesn’t guarantee victories, then plays horribly, causing a massive basketball betting upset in the process, possibly bigger than Rafa Nadal ruining the tournament for many French Open betting players.

The Cavs’ upset at the hands of Orlando ruined the NBA championship odds of virtually everyone who wasn’t a Laker fan. James did his part with 38.5 points, 9.1 boards and 7.3 assists, but only one other Cav scored over 20 in the entire series, and that was Williams, who scored 24 in the Game 5 win, and Delonte West, who nailed 22 in the Game 6 loss.

So who would be a boost to the Cavs’ NBA odds for next season? Looking at the free-agent list for 2009, it appears that Carlos Boozer, an ex-Cav, would be the best fit to join the LeBrons. He’s a legitimate 20/10 guy who can get easy baskets in the paint, and he would open up the floor even more for the three-point shooters, who would also be more confident in shooting with Boozer and James patrolling the paint for boards. Ben Wallace sounds like he’s leaning towards retirement, and Anderson Varejao sounds like he’s going to opt out of the final year of his contract, so there’s about $20 million on the table. However, will they make such a move knowing they have to resign LeBron in 2010? Offshore sportsbook odds depend heavily on it.

The last couple of games have proven just how important secondary players are to NBA championship odds. Michael Jordan proved that. It wasn’t until Scottie Pippen came on board, as well as a host of others, that MJ could really prove his worth.

Los Angeles Lakers - Lamar Odom could be the biggest factor in this year’s Lakers odds, including bigger than Kobe Bryant. Odom has an insane skill set for a man his size, and he dominated the Nuggets in Game 5’s win with 19 points and 14 rebounds. Not only can he play in the post, but he can bring the ball up the floor, and he may be the best 6′11″ passer in the NBA. When his heart is in it, of course.

Denver Nuggets - Chris “Birdman” Andersen brings insane rebounding and defensive skills to the Nuggets off the bench, but it’s more the energy he contributes. The Denver fans love Andersen, who has bounced back from a drug suspension, and that sparks the crowd. His play in Game 4 was the difference.

Cleveland Cavaliers - Pick one. Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 16 in Game 5 with Mo Williams adding 24, meaning LeBron James didn’t have to score 40 again (he ended up with 37, but whatever). I’ll take Ilgauskas because Williams is supposed to be scoring. Ilgauskas brings Dwight Howard out of the paint, leaving James space to do his thing.

Orlando Magic - Mickael Pietrus gets the nod over Rafer Alston because Alston was awful in Game 5, and Pietrus not only adds points off the bench, but he gets the task of guarding James as best he can. Pietrus hasn’t shut down James, but really, who can? But he makes him work, which makes James tired by the end of games. If they win Game 6, which they are favored to by NBA odds, Pietrus will have a huge hand in it.

Also before Saturday’s Game 6 between Cleveland and Orlando, check out some boxing betting action. There are two fights in Finland and Florida worth watching, which will pass the time.

David Stern must have set the NBA championship odds at the beginning of the season and laid money on them, because he’s doing his best to make sure that the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers are in the Finals, with the help of his officials, but it may be backfiring.

The Lakers odds to win their series with Denver are still good, but there have been alarming discrepancies for both teams in three of the five games thus far. Phil Jackson has earned a $25,000 fine for complaining after Game 4, but he got the upper hand in Game 3. George Karl has also complained, and the technical situation is out of hand. Denver’s Kenyon Martin has had three of the six Ts against him rescinded by the league.

But Cavs Magic betting players are being treated to one of the most inconsistent and quasi-blatant reffing exhibitions of all time. Look, I’m a big LeBron James fan, but dude is averaging 16 foul shots a game. SIXTEEN! At the end of Game 4, James forced a trip to the line by putting his head down and barging into Mickael Pietrus, praying to get the call. You don’t think he was going to get it? If you don’t , you also don’t think that Rachel Alexander has a Belmont Stakes betting chance in hell in a week. But the Magic are feeling it, too: Dwight Howard had a crap technical from Game 4 rescinded as well.

So basically, the Cavs aren’t out of it by a longshot, because they were getting shady calls on the road. In Cleveland, the Magic should just stayed lined up outside the lane, because that is where they’ll be all night. And the Lakers should be fine, with or without help. The NBA championship odds favorites aren’t done yet.