NBA: New NBA Season Begins

Can it be, yes it’s true another professional basketball season begins today. After weeks of having the occasional college football game, Major League Baseball postseason contest or hockey game to wager

2008-10-28

Can it be, yes it’s true another professional basketball season begins today. After weeks of having the occasional college football game, Major League Baseball postseason contest or hockey game to wager, the daily grind of betting on the NBA commences. Their were plenty of off-season moves that adjusted the outlooks of different teams, thus we begin anew with three games on opening night, which includes the champion Boston Celtics and the runner-up Los Angeles Lakers.

Cleveland at Boston 8:05E TNT

Last year at this time, a desperate Danny Ainge pulled the trigger on bringing in Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to pair with Paul Pierce in hopes of reviving Boston franchise that had become mediocre. With coach Doc Rivers directing, the newly anointed Big Three responded, leading the Celtics to an NBA-best 66-16 record, then through a tough postseason to earn the franchise’s first championship since 1986. Nearly all the main contributors are back except for James Posey.

Cleveland was among the teams that pushed Boston to the brink, losing in seven games in the Eastern semi-finals. The Cavaliers added point guard Mo Williams from Milwaukee, adding more scoring punch to go with LeBron James. “This is the best team that we’ve had since I’ve been here,” James said. Sportsbook.com has established Boston as a 6.5-point favorite with a total of 179.5. The Celtics were 30-16 ATS as a favorite of 3.5 to 9.5 points in all games last season and the Cavs are 40-24 ATS as a road underdog since 2006.

Portland at L.A. Lakers 10:35E TNT

The Los Angeles Lakers came up short in their quest for another NBA title, but believe they have the added piece that can place them over the top. The return of center Andrew Bynum in the middle adds a toughness the Lakers lacked against Boston in the Finals. This moves Pau Gasol over to power forward adding more rebounding and shot-blocking in the paint for Los Angeles. The main component is still there in Kobe Bryant, who is off MVP season and will once again look to lead by example and not always be the focal point.

Portland is starting a year later than expected, however that might not be the worst thing that could have happened to this team. Former No. 1 overall pick Greg Oden is set to make his NBA debut after sitting out all of last season with microfracture surgery. His absence helped the contributed growth of emerging stars Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge. The 24-year-old Roy averaged 19.1 points, 5.8 assists and 4.7 rebounds last season and made the All-Star team, Aldridge who is 23, averaged 17.8 points, boosting his scoring by 9.0 points per game from his rookie season, which was the second best such improvement in the NBA. The Blazers are an 8-point road underdog, however have covered the spread nine times in a row over the Lakers.

Milwaukee at Chicago 8:35E WGN

The Bucks and the Bulls have always had an odd rivalry for division rivals. Though separated by just 90 miles, neither the players nor the fans have the same passion for hatred, like say the Cubs and Brewers or Bears and Packers contests. To make things a little more interesting, Milwaukee hired last season’s opening day coach for Chicago Scott Skiles. The ratiocination for hiring Skiles was to bring an every day intensity Milwaukee has lacked since playing in the East Finals in 2001. The roster has been made over; adding Richard Jefferson, Luke Ridnour and draft picks Joe Alexander and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute. They’ll be matched with main holdovers Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut.

Chicago reached into the Phoenix front office and plucked first-year coach Vinny Del Negro. The former San Antonio guard was among the finalist for the Suns job and inherits talented young players he hopes will mesh. Luol Deng and Ben Gordon were the main contributors from a disappointing squad from a year ago. Chicago took local native Derrick Rose with the number one selection in the draft. Without exceptional frontcourt players besides Deng, the former Memphis Tiger is hoped to have the same impact New Orleans’ Chris Paul and Utah’s Deron Williams did on their teams. Chicago has won 12 of the last 14 meetings at the United Center, covering the spread eight times.

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