NBA Playoff Betting – Lakers, Magic should get through to second round

If you bet NBA playoffs, you’ll remember last year’s meeting in the Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Orlando Magic in what was a very entertaining series, with the Lakers pulling it out. These two have their first-round series lined up, and they will stay on track for a rematch.

Lakers vs Thunder odds

The Lakers will be the definite favorites in this series for a number of reasons. They’re the top seed in the West, they have far more playoff experience than the Thunder, and they have homecourt, which is the most important factor in this series when you realize that the Thunder have won just one of their last 13 trips to the Staples Center. If the Thunder are going to pull out one of the biggest sportsbetting upsets of all time, they’re going to need Kevin Durant, who led the league in scoring, to drop at least 35 points per game, and that still may not be enough. Russell Westbrook has the quickness to make life tough for the Lakers’ guards, but the Lakers will have Andrew Bynum back in the middle, and that will be a huge boost for them. The Thunder should avoid a sweep, but we’re taking the Lakers, who have taken three of four with the Thunder this season.

Magic vs Bobcats odds

The Magic will be the favored team in your sports book here as the second seed, and they won three of four against the Bobcats, who led the league in points allowed, while the Magic are fourth. Orlando has the dominant player in the series in Dwight Howard, who can dictate this series at both ends of the floor, but it’s imperative that he is aggressive on the offensive end of the floor as Charlotte’s best defenders, Stephen Jackson and Gerald Wallace, may have to help, which opens up the floor for Orlando’s three-point bombers. A big off-court factor could be the news that Charlotte coach Larry Brown may be ready to move on after leading the Bobcats to the first postseason in their history, and you have to wonder how this will affect a team that has embraced Brown, who has a history of doing this. Even without the distraction, though, the Magic have enough tools to take this series rather easily. The Bobcats are awful in Orlando, losing 10 of their last 12 games, and overall they’ve dropped eight of their last 10 against the Magic, who have went against the grain and played their starters down the stretch to maintain their rhythm, and they look like the best team in the East right now, but that could change once Cleveland decides to play LeBron James again. Take the Magic in your NBA betting picks.