Sports Betting Week: NBA Launches Round 2

The NBA had to play 50 of a potential 56 games to get through the eight series in the best-of-seven opening round of the playoffs, and even though there were five Game 7s over the past two days five of the eight higher-seeded teams have moved on to the conference semifinals.

The action gets underway this Monday night with Game 1 of the series between the No. 5 Washington Wizards and the No. 1 Indiana Pacers in Indiana. The Wizards stunned Chicago 4-1 in the opening round, while the top-seeded Pacers had to go to the wall to get past No. 8 Atlanta in seven games. Bovada has Indiana listed as a 4-point favorite for Monday night’s contest on its current NBA betting odds. The total is set at 184.

The other series opener this Monday has the No. 3 Los Angeles Clippers on the road against No. 2 Oklahoma City as 5.5-point underdogs. The betting line for the total in that game has been set at 211.5. Both of these teams had to survive a Game 7 with Los Angeles knocking No. 6 Golden State out of the playoffs and the Thunder getting past Memphis in another series that went the distance.

The other two semifinal matchups will start on Tuesday night. No. 6 Brooklyn will go on the road to face the well-rested No. 2 Miami Heat in Game 1 of that Eastern Conference clash, and later that night No. 5 Portland will begin its best-of-seven series against the top seed in the West, the San Antonio Spurs.

The Nets have been opened as 7-point underdogs against the Heat after squeezing out a one-point win in Sunday’s Game 7 against Toronto. The betting odds for the total line have been set at 193.5. Portland brought a quick end to Houston’s stay in the playoffs by winning that series in six games. The Trail Blazers have been opened as 6.5-point road underdogs against the Spurs and the total for that Game 1 matchup is still off the board.

If you are looking to wager on some MLB games this week then you might want to check out a couple of intriguing matchups on the slate. This Monday night the St. Louis Cardinals and the Atlanta Braves kick off a three-game set at Turner Field. The Cardinals are five games back in the NL Central, while the Braves lead the NL East by half a game.

The other series of interest is an inter-league showdown for bragging rights in the Windy City when the White Sox take on the Cubs for four games starting this Monday at Wrigley Field.