The defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs are back in their series against the New Orleans Hornets after winning Game 3 and will now try and even things up in Game 4 on Sunday. Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili scored 31 points each and Tim Duncan had 16 points and 13 rebounds in the Spurs 110-99 win on Thursday. “We know that going 3-0 - it’s never been done to come back like that,” said Ginobili, “Today, for us, it was a Game 7. We knew if we didn’t win today, it was almost over. So we had a different approach. We played with more passion, more edge.”   The Spurs will now try and take the next step and even the series.

SBGGlobal.com reports that early NBA betting has the public taking Spurs at Home.

Chris Paul had 35 point and nine assists while David West had 23 points and 12 rebounds in Game 3 for the Hornets.  New Orleans had their chance in the fourth quarter but missed wide open shots and the Spurs pulled away. “You got to give them a lot of credit,” Hornets coach Byron Scott said, “I thought they played a lot more aggressive tonight. A lot more physical. Basically kind of took us right out of our game. I thought we lost our composure tonight a little bit as well.” The Spurs didn’t contain Paul but they did hold Stojakovic to only eight points. “Chris is going to score regardless. He’s got the ball in his hands every single time. Every single play it’s Chris Paul,” said Parker, “He’s going to score. So we decided to put Bruce (Bowen) on Peja and at least hold somebody down because Peja was killing us.”

Current Odds: Spurs  - 5.5, Total  186

Here are the NBA betting stats for Sunday’s game. The Hornets are 43-21-1 ATS in their last 65 games overall. The Hornets are 21-11 ATS in their last 32 games as an underdog.

The Spurs are 15-3-2 ATS in their last 20 playoff games as a favorite. The Spurs are 7-2-1 ATS in their last 10 games as a home favorite. The home team is 5-0 ATS in the last 5 meetings between the two teams and the favorite is 10-4 ATS in the last 14 meetings.

The Over is 8-1-1 in the Hornets last 10 Conference Semifinals games. The Under is 4-2 in the Hornets last 6 road games. The Over is 8-3 in the Hornets last 11 games as a road underdog.

The Over is 5-1 in the Spurs last 6 games as a favorite. The Over is 8-2-1 in the Spurs last 11 overall. The Over is 13-5-1 in the Spurs last 19 Conference Semifinals games. The Over is 8-3 in the last 11 meetings in San Antonio between the two teams.

Despite triumph and tragedy meeting at the Kentucky Derby this past weekend, fan interest and fascination in the possibility of a horse winning the Triple Crown is at an all time high.  Affirmed remains the last horse to win the triple crown in 1978 and fans are wondering how Bog Brown stacks up – and what the field will look like at the Preakness.

This being the case, the largest most successful sportsbook on the web, Bet-US.com posted odds on a triple crown winner, as well as the Preakness.

“Fans are really eager for a horse to capture their imaginations like Affirmed did back in 1978,” stated BetUS spokesman Reed Richards.  “That’s really where all of this interest stems from.  They come to our site hoping the chances are good fro a Triple Crown winner – what those chances are EXACTLY.”

Oddsmakers at Bet US.com posted the following odds on the Triple Crown and Preakness:

To Win Preakness
Big Brown 1/3
Harlem Rocker 9/2
Behindatthebar 14/1
Denis of Cork 16/1
Samba Rooster 16/1
Colonel John 16/1
Bob Black Jack 20/1
Tale of Ekati 25/1
Recapturetheglory 33/1

Will Big Brown win the Triple Crown
Yes 1/2
No 3/2

For more sports and entertainment odds, BetUS.com

 Lakers to Extend Lead Over Jazz  

While the Utah Jazz, (58-31 SU, 49-40 ATS, 45-43-1 O/U) are undoubtedly one of the better teams in the NBA, their struggles against the NBA online betting favorite Los Angeles Lakers, (62-25 SU, 52-33-1 ATS, 41-45 O/U) this season are clearly apparent after viewing the opening game of their second round NBA playoff series - and four regular season matchups - against their Western Conference rivals, which the Lakers easily won three of.

Jazz all-star power forward Carlos Boozer said his team needs to get more physical – immediately.

The Lakers have approached the playoffs with the desperation of a team looking to stay alive one more day.

“Every game is Game 7. That’s been our approach,” Lakers star Kobe Bryant said. “I think with each win, we get more confident. Utah is a much bigger challenge for us than the first round.”

Utah Jazz point guard Deron Williams wanted to remind everyone that one loss does not a series make.

“It’s a seven-game series,” he said. “We’ve lost one game. We’ve just got to stay poised and try to get this next one. We want to try to get back to where we were. We don’t want to go back to Salt Lake down 0-2. We’ve been in that situation before and it’s not pretty.”

Here is a look at tonight’s key trends followed by my NBA Betting Free Picks:

The Jazz are 5-1 ATS in their last six after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game.

The Jazz are 4-1 ATS in their last five games following a S.U. loss.

The Lakers are 7-0 ATS in their last seven after scoring 100 points or more in their previous game.

The Lakers are 6-0 ATS in their last six games vs. a team with a winning S.U. record.

The Under is 4-0 in Jazz last four road games vs. a team with a home winning percentage of greater than .600.

The Under is 4-0 in Lakers last four games following a S.U. win.

The Home team is 8-2 ATS in the last ten meetings.

The Over is 6-2 in the last eight meetings in Los Angeles.

Analysis: I’m going to keep this pick short and directly to the point for my beloved NBA bettors. I like the Lakers to win this game as every Lakers victory this season over the Jazz, in 4-out of 5 games including their Game 1 postseason contest, has been by double digits. With Carlos Boozer, Andrei Kirilenko and Ronnie Brewer all scoring less points per game in the playoffs than they did in the regular season, I say take the Lakers to cover the spread while going up 2-0 in this series.

NBA Free Picks: Lakers-7 Points/Over 209½ Total Points

Visit here for Online NBA odds.

The defending Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers will face the team that most people believe will win the East this year, the Boston Celtics in game one of their best of seven series on Tuesday. The Celtics had all kinds of trouble dispatching the Atlanta Hawks in the first round while Cleveland was able to get past Washington. The Cavaliers will lean on LeBron James while the Celtics have the big three of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen.

James has scored 30 or more points against the Celtics in 9 of their last 10 meetings. In three games this season, James averaged 32 points, seven rebounds and just under 10 assists against the Celtics. “You’ve always got to keep an eye on him wherever he is on the court,” said Paul Pierce. The Celtics and Cavaliers split their four games this season with each team winning their home games.

Here are the NBA betting stats for Tuesday’s game. The Cavaliers are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 vs. the Atlantic. The Cavaliers are 14-6 ATS in their last 20 playoff games as an underdog. The Cavaliers are 33-16 ATS in their last 49 games as a road underdog. The Cavaliers are 4-1-2 ATS in the last 7 meetings in Boston. The road team is 5-2-1 ATS in the last 8 meetings. The underdog is 6-0-1 ATS in the last 7 meetings between the two teams.

The Celtics are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 vs. the Central. The Celtics are 13-3 ATS in their last 16 games as a home favorite. The Celtics are 10-4 ATS in their last 14 Tuesday games.

The Under is 4-0 in the Cavaliers last 4 vs. the Atlantic. The Under is 10-1 in the Cavaliers last 11 Conference Semifinals games. The Under is 9-3 in the Cavaliers last 12 overall. The Under is 14-5 in the Cavaliers last 19 playoff games as an underdog. The Over is 19-7-1 in the Cavaliers last 27 Tuesday games.

The Under is 4-1 in the Celtics last 5 vs. the Central. The Over is 4-1 in the Celtics last 5 playoff games as a favorite. The Under is 6-2 in the Celtics last 8 games as a home favorite. The Over is 11-5 in the Celtics last 16 Tuesday games.

The Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals wrap up their three game series on Sunday night with Jason Marquis facing Todd Wellemeyer.  Marquis is 1-1 on the season with a 4.45 ERA.  He gave up five runs on 10 hits in five innings in his last start against Milwaukee.  He was 3-1 with a 3.60 ERA against the Cardinals last season.  Wellemeyer is 2-1 on the season with a 4.14 ERA.  Wellemeyer is pitching better recently and will be facing his former team.

The Cardinals have lost the season series to the Cubs in each of the past three years, going 19-31 against them. St. Louis was 8-10 against the Cubs at the new Busch Stadium before the start of this series.  Jason Isringhausen has a lifetime 5.03 ERA against the Cubs, including 6.43 last year. Albert Pujols has a career .288 average against the Cubs, his second-lowest mark against any National League team.

Last year the Cubs were 10-14 in April but this year they were 17-10 during the month.  They hit .286, and had an on-base percentage of .375 during the month of April. The Cubs’ 171 runs, 279 hits, 62 doubles, 130 walks, batting average and on-base percentage for the month were all club records. They had two five-game winning streaks during the month of April. Carlos Zambrano and Ryan Dempster each won four games in April. The only MLB betting National League teams to win more games in April were the Cardinals and Diamondbacks. The Cubs were averaging 6.3 runs per game during the month of April, which is the highest runs-per-game average at the end of April for them since the 1954 team averaged 7.6 runs per game.

The Cardinals were even better in April going 18-11.  It is the most wins ever for a Cardinals team in April.  They have been led recently by Rick Ankiel who went 8-13 with five RBI’s against the Reds in their last series.  Hitting in front of Albert Pujols, Ankiel had an excellent month of April and has given the Cardinals a powerful one-two punch in the lineup.

At the end of April, the top three teams in the Central Division – the Cubs, the Cardinals and the Brewers combined to go 50-33 which is better than the top three teams of any other division.

The NBA playoffs haven’t even progressed past the first round already two coaches have been fired, and one has stepped down.  Inevitably Isaiah Thomas was fired, followed by Sam Vincent, and most recently Pat Riley has left his post as Miami’s head coach.

With furor over playoff and regular season mistakes reaching an all-time high in places like Phoenix and Dallas and elsewhere, fans are wondering who’s (and in some cases calling for) head will roll next.  This being the case, the largest most successful sportsbook on the web, Bet-US.com posted odds on the next NBA heads coach to be fired.

Oddsmakers at BetUS.com posted the following odds on NBA coaches:

Next Coach to be fired in the NBA

Marc Iavaroni (Memphis)       15/1

Mike Dunleavy (LA Clippers)   15/1

Lawrence Frank (New Jersey)   15/1

Reggie Theus (Sacramento)     15/1

Jim O’Brien (Indiana)         15/1

Avery Johnson (Dallas)        3/1

Mike D’Antoni (Phoenix)       2/1

Greg Popovich (San Antonio)   50/1

Field                         3/2

Graded as per first coach to be fired or to resign.

For more sports and entertainment odds, Visit BetUs.com Now!

Dallas Mavericks’ star Josh Howard turned heads on Friday when he admitted on the Michael Irvin Radio show that he smokes marijuana regularly in the off-season.  Equally as shocking was his willingness to implicate the entire league with regard to marijuana use.

Were Howard’s admissions and candor a sign of things to come from pro athletes?  Will their discretion come in to question when and if they admit to drug use and or other sordid behavior?  Fans across the country are wondering just what to make of this scenario so once again beating everyone to the punch, the largest most successful sportsbook on the web, Bet US.com is providing them with answers.

Oddsmakers at BetUS.com posted the following odds on the recent Josh Howard drama:

Odds on the next NBA player to admit to smoking up:
Allan Iverson:  4/1
Carmello Anthony:  10/1
Rasheed Wallace:  2/1
LeBron:  40/1
Josh Childress:  4/1
Shaq: 100/1�
Dirk:  250/1

Odds on what’s next for Howard:
Arrest:  5/1      �
Rehab:  20/1    �
Banned from league:  5/2      �
Fined by league:  1/2      �
Starts company with Ricky Williams:  100/1   

For more sports and entertainment odds, visit BetUs.com

The Denver Nuggets haven’t been able to slow down Kobe Bryant and the Lakers so far but they hope their home court will provide them with enough of an advantage to get back in the series on Saturday.  The Nuggets were a sparkling 33-8 at home this season. “It’s our turn to hold serve,” Nuggets coach George Karl said, “It’s a great challenge, a lot of fun. The home court’s been kind of our biggest ally all year long.”  SBG Global reports that early NBA betting has the public taking Lakers on the Road.

Denver hasn’t played any defense so far in this series, giving up an average of 125 points per game to the Lakers.  Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol have ripped them apart but the Nuggets believe things will turn around on Saturday. “My sense is all year long when this team had its true back to the wall, they’ve responded great and the home court’s been a big part of that,” Karl said. “I think there’s an energy out there. Statistically there’s all sorts of positives that come our way here. We play better defense here.”  They sure couldn’t play defense much worse than they did in Los Angeles. 

The problem for the Nuggets is that they were next to last in the NBA this season allowing 107 points per game. Perhaps the home court advantage will be enough for Denver to make this a series. “I don’t think you’re going to see wholesale changes. They believe in their style of play,” the Lakers Derek Fisher said. “Defensively, I think they’ll play even more zone than we saw last night. I don’t expect them to do too many things differently than they’ve done so far. I just expect them to do them better on their home court.”

SBG Global Current Line: Nuggets  -1.5 , Total 230

The Lakers are only 4-6 in their last 10 road games in Denver.  Here are more NBA betting stats for Saturday’s game.  The Lakers are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games overall. The Lakers are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games as a road underdog. The Lakers are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 Conference Quarterfinals games. The Lakers are 19-7-1 ATS in their last 27 road games. The Lakers are 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings in Denver.

The Nuggets are 8-3 ATS in their last 11 games as a home favorite. The Nuggets are 4-9 ATS in their last 13 vs. the Pacific. The Nuggets are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games overall. The Nuggets are 3-13 ATS in their last 16 Conference Quarterfinals games. The favorite is 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings between the two teams and the home team is 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings.

The Over is 8-2 in the Lakers last 10 Saturday games. The Over is 5-2 in the Lakers last 7 playoff games as an underdog. The Over is 7-3 in the Lakers last 10 Conference Quarterfinals games.

The Under is 17-4 in the Nuggets last 21 Conference Quarterfinals games. The Over is 15-6 in the Nuggets last 21 games as a home favorite.

NBA online bettors are gearing up for the start of the NBA 2008 playoffs, which already began on Saturday, April 19. There is no shortage of betting opportunities on the playoffs, as NBA basketball gamblers can bet games individually, make wagers on which team will win the series, along with a number of propositions bets that will be available. Check our online NBA Playoffs odds.

There is a general perception that betting the underdogs and taking the unders are the way to go in the playoffs, but looking at the first-round results from the 2006-07 NBA playoffs, shows that out of 41 games, the underdogs were just 19-20-2 against the point spread, while under bettors would have been 22-19.