Heat betting favorites in NBA

The Miami Heat were built to win NBA championships, and they're showing they may live up to the hype in their opening-round series versus the Philadelphia 76ers.

Miami began their postseason run slowly in Game 1 against the 76ers with a 97-89 win; we say slowly because they failed to cover the 10.5-point spread. In Game 2 the gloves came off and Miami destroyed the 76ers 94-73 as a 9-point favorite. The Heat's Big Three dominated in the win, led by LeBron James with 29 points, seven rebounds, and six assists, and Chris Bosh with 21 points and 11 boards. The game was so out of hand early on that James, Bosh, and Dwyane Wade individually each scored more points in the first half than the entire Philadelphia starting lineup.

What has the Heat's solid start to the postseason meant for bettors? At Bodog the oddsmakers have given the Heat a boost up the NBA championship futures to the top of the list at 11/4. Game 3 of the series is Thursday night, and the early line has the Heat listed as a 4.5-point road favorite. After their Game 2 win Miami has won nine in a row versus Philadelphia while going 5-4 ATS.

Before the Heat took over sole possession of top spot on the Bodog futures they shared it with the Chicago Bulls. Chicago has posted two wins against Indiana to start the postseason, but they haven't fulfilled bettors' hopes. Chicago went 0-2 ATS in those games after failing to cover a 12.5-point spread in Game 1 and an 11-point spread in Game 2.

Will this change when they head to Indiana for Game 2 on Thursday night? The early odds on the game at Bodog have Chicago listed as a 4.5-point road favorite. In their last six trips to Indiana the Bulls are a lackluster 2-4 SU and 3-3 ATS. That includes their last game in Indiana in March when, as 4.5-point chalk, they were upset 115-108. Derrick Rose led the Bulls with a career-high 42 points, but one important factor to note is that Chicago was missing forward Carlos Boozer. With Boozer and Joakim Noah both in the lineup Thursday night it could be a different story for the Bulls.

Injuries may not be a big deal for Chicago this week, but they could be on Friday when Boston and New York square off for Game 3 of their series at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks are down 2-0 in the series and could be missing Amar'e Stoudemire (back) and Chauncey Billups (knee). Stoudemire missed all of the second half of Game 2 on Tuesday, while Billups didn't play at all. The end result, despite a phenomenal performance from Carmelo Anthony (42 points, 17 rebounds, six assists), was a 96-93 Boston win as a 6.5-point favorite.

The line for this game won't be available until the status of Stoudemire and Billups becomes clear, but keep an eye out for it. The Celtics may be 6-0 versus New York this season, but they're only 2-4 ATS and they're also 2-4 ATS in their last six at New York overall.