Bodog NBA Betting Odds: Miami Heat at Dallas Mavericks for Game 5
Thursday, June 09, 2011
by Bodog Sportsbook
Playing armchair psychologist is always more fun when LeBron James is your topic. What happened to him in Game 4 of the NBA Finals? Did he "check out" mentally, as DeShawn Stevenson told reporters Wednesday afternoon? Or did he strategically play second fiddle to the very hot hand of Dwyane Wade?
Either way, the NBA betting market is primed for a monster King James comeback. His Miami Heat are 1.5-point favorites in Thursday’s Game 5 against the Dallas Mavericks with the series at 2-2.
Maybe it’s just that the Mavericks play good defense. No, really: They were seventh overall in the league in defensive efficiency during the regular season, moving up to sixth in the playoffs. And the Mavs defense got even better in Game 4 with Stevenson playing 25 minutes off the bench while Peja Stojakovic played three seconds. You may recall Stevenson and James have a thing going from when the Washington Wizards and Cleveland Cavaliers were regular dance partners in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Dallas also has this guy named Dirk Nowitzki. The guy had a fever in the triple digits and he still scored 21 points Tuesday night. And there was plenty of secondary scoring in Game 4 – Stevenson was 3 of 7 from downtown, while Shawn Marion (16 points) and Tyson Chandler (13 points, nine offensive rebounds) got the job done inside. Chandler had to go for almost 43 minutes at center because Brendan Haywood (hip flexor) showed limited mobility and lasted just three minutes before getting the hook.
James should come back with renewed vigor in Game 5 while some 15 million people watch on television (9:00 p.m. ET, ABC) in the States and countless others online. Bodog Sportsbook has live betting available for this matchup, as well as fresh odds, props and futures; Miami is –220 to go on and win the series to +180 for Dallas.
Get all your NBA odds at Bodog Sportsbook.
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brendan haywood - cleveland cavaliers - deshawn stevenson - dirk nowitzki - dwyane wade - dwyane wade - lebron james - nba betting - nba finals - peja stojakovic