The Los Angeles Lakers remain the favorites to represent the Western Conference at 11-2 odds to win the NBA title and if they play as well as they have since Andrew Bynum served his four-game suspension, they will obliterate the competition in the conference.

The Oklahoma City Thunder (7-1) are the second favorite in the Western Conference but they may not be the best challenger to the Lakers in the post season. The Thunder are the No. 1 seed at the moment and if Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook can play nice the Thunder could live up to their status but don’t count on it.

The Portland Trail Blazers are 30-1 to win the NBA title but they are the No. 2 teams in the standings in the West at this point. The Trail Blazers are surprising everyone, including the bettors early on but their lack of talent will catch on.

The biggest turnaround from last year is the emergence of the Los Angeles Clippers with the help of new addition Chris Paul. Paul and Blake Griffin are playoff bound and their odds are still 75-1 to win the NBA title. 75-1 is worth a shot to most futures bettors looking to hedge later in the season.

The sportsbooks have the Dallas Mavericks at 8-1 to repeat as NBA champs but the Mark Cuban has packed it in from the outset of this strike-shortened season. The Mavs are peddling hard to keep their head above water and they will be hard pressed to make the playoffs this season.

Chicago is a 3.5-point, -160 moneyline favorite and the over/under total is 179 in basketball picks.

The Atlanta Hawks have been able to give the Chicago Bulls everything they can handle. When they play on their home court in the Phillips Arena, they do not have much of a home court advantage. The fan base for the Hawks is small and the Chicago Bulls fans have invaded the arena for the other games the Atlanta Hawks have hosted.

The Hawks will run out a starting five led by Joe Johnson as their premiere shooting guard. Johnson is averaging 19 points per game and he has been the difference in the two Hawks wins. Johnson scored 33 points when the Hawks won in Game 1.

Al Horford and Josh Smith have controlled the boards for the Hawks in this series. Horford is pulling down 10 plus rebounds per game and Smith is grabbing nine. The Bulls Joakim Noah leads both teams on the boards with 11.3 rebounds per game and Carlos Boozer has averaged nine rebounds per game.

Derrick Rose has been the leader of the Bulls all season and the point guard has not let up as the NBA Playoffs have progressed. The Bulls can go only as far as Rose can take them. Las Vegas has lowered their odds to win it all to 4-1 but they may not match up well with the Miami Heat.

For this matchup the over/under total is 180 and NBA Odds have the Bulls as an 8.5-point favorite.

Even though the Hawks showed that they can hang with the Bulls as they controlled the game and came out with a 103-95 victory, they were expected to be mowed over in this game. It was clear that the Bulls could not contain Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford while many people may think this game was just a fluke.

By just about every NBA writer and fan, Joe Johnson had a season that was considered to be a disappointment. All of that will be forgotten if he emerges as a top level star this season in the playoffs, while he had a terrible season. Although it was clear that Joe Johnson was going to score if he wanted to in this game, the Bulls tried to defend him with a few different defenders.

The Bulls will have to find a way to guard Crawford also as he was much too quick for Korver. By giving the Hawks the spark they needed when they didn’t have all of their stars in the game he had a big game off the bench.

Derrick Rose will need to step up if the Bulls are going to come back and take the next game as he had a subpar game by many accounts. Although he is expected to play on Wednesday, there are concerns about the ankle that he rolled during the game.

The Lakers are an 11.5-point favorite and the total is 187 in basketball betting odds.

The Hornets surprised the world by stealing game 1 away from the Lakers in Los Angeles. There were a few key factors that came into play for the Hornets in the opener that allowed them to take home the victory.

The first thing that went well for the Hornets was the play of Chris Paul. Paul was playing at a ridiculous level. He was unstoppable with the ball and found his teammates for open looks throughout the game. The Lakers tried to switch on the pick-and-roll against Paul in the last game and that left Pau Gasol guarding Paul. While Gasol is a solid defender, he was not nearly quick enough to keep up and Paul torched him over and over again. The Lakers will need to find a way to more effectively stop the pick-and-roll or they may have to face it repeatedly throughout the playoffs.

The second thing that went well for the Hornets was their defense against the big men of the Lakers. The Lakers were unable to get things going through Gasol on offense as he was limited to just 8 points on 2-9 shooting for the game. Look for the Lakers to go to Gasol early and often in this game in order to get some momentum rolling in their favor.

Game 2 will take place in Los Angeles as the Lakers try to even the series. The Los Angeles Lakers are favorites in basketball picks to win this match.

The Celtics and Heat are both at 5-2 to win the NBA Championship in NBA Betting.

The two will meet up Sunday, April 10 in what is expected to be a preview of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Celtics are hoping they will have a healthy Shaquille O’Neal for this tilt but not many are optimistic he will be able to help for this game.

The Miami Heat has become comfortable in their own skin as the NBA Playoffs approach. The Heat have played as a much more cohesive team since their disappointing loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers Tuesday, March 29. The Heat are still Dwyane Wade’s team but LeBron James has been the best scorer on the team.

Although many have been disappointed by Chris Bosh he is scoring just under 20 points a game. Miami has taken an entire season to mesh well as a team and now as the NBA Playoffs approach they will be prepared for beating teams such as Boston. Now that Boston has made the curious move of trading away their dominant big man, Kendrick Perkins, they are vulnerable.

With O’Neal injured and Perkins gone, Boston may not make it to the Eastern Conference Finals. For this game on Sunday, the Celtics will be hard pressed to complete with the Heat in this game let alone win. Boston can make a statement if they beat the Heat without a O’Neal in the middle.

Utah is out of playoff contention whereas NBA Handicapping has the Lakers as one of the top favorites to win the NBA Championship at 5-2 in NBA Odds.

Since the All-Star break the Lakers have been absolutely on fire. They have won 7 games in a row as they have only lost one time since the break. The Lakers have also put to the pressure on San Antonio to win a few games before the season is over while there are only a few games left. In the standings the Lakers are 4 games behind San Antonio.

This offseason the Utah Jazz have fallen out of playoff contention and their hopes will be centered in the NBA Draft.

The Utah Jazz’s hopes will be centered in the NBA Draft this offseason, they have fallen out of playoff contention. Since trading away Deron Williams they have had a dramatic drop. After having a promising chance to make the playoffs in a crowded Western Conference Playoff race they are now 2 games under .500 on the season.

The way they have been, the Lakers simply need their big men to continue to dominate the paint. As of late Andrew Bynum seems to be a new player. He has only shown for small stretches throughout his career that he has offered defense and rebounding in a way. The Lakers will have a solid shot at competing for the NBA title if he is able to continue playing this way.

In order to take over the game the Jazz need to find a way to force Kobe Bryant. The Lakers are a worse team when he tries to carry them on his back while he is a great player.

In NBA betting lines, the Odds have the Heat at 4-1 to win the NBA Championship and the Nuggets at 20-1.

The Miami Heat are the home team in this game and they are 45-21 on the season. The Heat are 24-9 while playing at home this season. The Nuggets are 39-27 on the season, but they have been terrible while playing on the road. The Nuggets are 12-20 while playing away from Denver this season.

The Nuggets have really been playing strong since the departure of Carmelo Anthony. They have won 8 of their last 10 games and they have won two games in a row as of Monday. The Heat are starting to bounce back after a losing streak. They have now won 2 games in a row and it appears that they are on track to make a run into the playoffs.

The Denver Nuggets are a high scoring team. They lead the league with 108 points per game on the season. While they can really put the ball in the basket, they struggle on defense .They surrender 104 points per game.

The Heat are a very good defensive team, allowing 95 points per game. It will be interesting to see which team dictates the pace of the game. If the Nuggets can run the court they should be able to challenge the Heat. However, if the Heat make the Nuggets slow down they will be the favorite in this game.

In NBA picks the Nuggets are favorites to win the championship.

Between where each team stands in their divisions, there is a major difference. The Suns are struggling to secure a spot in the playoffs as they are ranked 9th in the Western Conference, while Magic stands steadily at the fourth spot of the Eastern Conference.

Every win is critical for phoenix at this stage of the season. The Suns will have the home advantage and millions more across the country will tune in to watch on it live on ABC in the afternoon for Sunday’s game. The Suns and Magic will clash only for the second time this season, because they are on opposite Conferences.

In opposition to the Suns, the Magic won the previous meeting105-89. In mid November this was played, which was in the early stages of the season. For three quarters the Magic delighted the home fans. Orlando still earned a comfortable victory, in spite of being outscored 14-30 in the last quarter. As six Magic players had double figures on the scoreboard, there was true teamwork in the game.

In the outcome of this match, of course, Steve Nash’s absence due to an injury was a major factor. Suns’ star player will be healthy and ready to make a statement for the rematch on Sunday.

For this matchup basketball betting odds has not yet published.

Overnight NBA Lines for this matchup will be available Saturday night.

The Hawks won the first two games against the Knicks, but lost the most recent one. In late November, the Hawks defeated the Knicks at Madison Square Garden 99-90. Two months later, Atlanta pulled off an even better victory, 111-102. However, New York finally got some revenge against Atlanta and pleased the home crowd by winning 102-90 in February.

The Previous results give only a partial preview for Sunday’s game, because of some monumental changes in the New York squad. The Knicks added Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups to the lineup in a deal that involved several other players, future rookie picks, and some cash.

Born in Brooklyn, Carmelo Anthony admitted that it’s a dream come true to play in his hometown. With Amar’e Stoudemire averaging 26 points a game, and Carmelo Anthony averaging just over 25 per game, the Knicks have two of the top five scorers in the league. Veteran point guard Billups will also bring some valuable contributions from his experience as an NBA champion and All Star.

Atlanta is ranked 5th in the Eastern Conference and New York is right behind at the sixth spot. With the postseason coming to an end next month, both teams are focused on securing a spot in the playoffs. There is also a good chance that they will meet each other along the battle road leading to the NBA Finals.

The Lakers are at 4-1 in NBA lines Odds to win the 2011 NBA Championship while the Thunder are at 22-1.

The Lakers currently have the third best record in the Western Conference, trailing behind San Antonio and Dallas. Right below Los Angeles, Oklahoma City Thunder have slowly climbed to the number four spot in the rankings and made a statement that they are legitimate contenders for the NBA title.

On Sunday February 27th, the Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder will square off for the second time this season. In the previous game in late January, the Lakers won 101-94 as fan favorites Paul Gasol and Kobe Bryant each contributed 21 points. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook scored 24 and 32 points, respectively, but it still wasn’t enough to overcome the Lakers.

This time, Thunder will have the home advantage as Oklahoma City fans are expected to fill up their arena for a match that will also be nationally televised on ABC in the afternoon.

The Lakers’ players are heading into this game with plenty of confidence. Derek Fisher was recently named the 2010 Sportsman of the Year while Paul Gasol earned the honor of being named the 2010 Euro Player of the Year.

There is also plenty of hope for Thunder to win the game if the league’s leading scorer Kevin Durant finds his usual range and compiles impressive numbers on the scoreboard. However, Durant will have to score more than his season average of 29 points in order to have a real shot at defeating the Lakers.