Bet Sports

Last night the NBA's Eastern Conference finals had its second game of the series as the Orlando Magic and Boston Celtics resumed their epic battle from the weekend. NBA finals betting just got trickier for fans as the safe bet was supposed to be the Orlando Magic. However after two games both won by the Celtics it appears NBA betting odds are slowly shifting in favor of the Celtics. The game yesterday was closer than the game Sunday as the Celtics won 95-92, giving the Magic their second straight loss after riding an eight game winning streak going into the finals. In the second round the Magic had an eight day layoff and proceeded to cruise to a four game sweep of the Atlanta Hawks, a team whose star players looked disinterested after the first game.

Before facing off with Boston the Magic had another six day layoff as a result of the easy second round matchup. The Celtics unlike the Hawks appear to be more motivated than ever as Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, appear more focused than when they won the championship in 2008. During the game Boston again showed its dominance, leading by 11 entering the fourth quarter, but then the Magic woke up, luckily though Pierce's 28 points and five helpers and Rondo's 25 points were enough to help the Celtics grab a two to nothing hold on the series. On the Magic side, star center Dwight 'Superman' Howard poured in 30 points while former Toronto Raptor Vince Carter had 16 points. Further Carter missed two key free throws, reminding Raptor fans of Carter's struggles at being mister clutch. If the Magic hope to have any chance in the series they will need to show up before the fourth quarter in game three on Saturday.

Preakness betting players don't have to worry about a tournaments-style format, as they're one race and out. The NBA is down to their version of the Final Four, and there is something for everyone (unless you're a LeBron James fan).

Boston vs Orlando

The last two Eastern Conference champions will face off with the Magic taking homecourt advantage. The Magic are favored at -260 after winning three of four against the Celtics during the regular season, including both games in Boston. The Celtics will be out to avenge their exit at the hands of the Magic in the second round of last year's playoffs, and they'll be boosted by their fantastic performance against James and Cleveland, who had the NBA's best record. Meanwhile, the Magic are 8-0 in the playoffs, and are coming off a historic blowout four-game sweep of Atlanta.

Phoenix vs Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers are favored at -320, but it's the Suns that have won their last two playoff meetings with the defending NBA champions, taking the Lakers out in the first round in 2006 and 2007. Since then, the Lakers have won nine of their last 12 against the Suns, including three of four during the regular season. Both are coming off impressive sweeps over tough opponents (Los Angeles over Utah, Phoenix over San Antonio), and the rest is a good thing for both teams, especially former MVPs Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash. Check the totals before making your sports bet for this game, as they have gone over the posted total in half of their last 10 meetings.

The sports betting SEO community (not the betting search engine optimization guys) has been following the Flyers-Bruins series - and the betting - very closely. It has reached a fever pitch as Philadelphia has come back from an 0-3 deficit to tie the series up at three games apiece, setting the stage for a massive Game 7 showdown in Boston. Can they overcome the odds?

The Flyers edged the Bruins 2-1 on Wednesday to send the series back to Beantown for the deciding game, and now they have a chance to become just the third team in NHL playoff history to come back from an 0-3 hole. The first came in 1942, when Toronto stunned Detroit in the Stanley Cup finals, and then in 1975, the New York Islanders came back to do it against Pittsburgh in the second round of the playoffs. The New York Rangers battled back to tie their semifinal series with Boston in 1939, but ended up losing Game 7 in double overtime. So it's not very likely, but given the way that Philadelphia has been playing, it's definitely possible.

The Bruins are favored at -125 in this critical Game 7, and they've scored just one goal in the last two games. The Flyers replaced the injured Brian Boucher in goal with Michael Leighton, and he played extremely well in the Flyers' 2-1 win, and they also got a massive performance from captain Mike Richards, who had a goal and an assist, as well as a couple of big shot blocks. The defense has also played very well in front of the goalie, keeping the Bruins at one shot, and then getting rid of the rebound. An upset by Philadelphia on Friday isn't out of the question, not by a longshot. We see these types of upsets on the football odds and online horse racing betting all the time.