NBA Betting Preview: Back 76ers in critical Eastern clash

Basketball / Nick Shiambouros / 03 April 2009 / Leave a Comment

There are still eight play-off places up for grabs with just over two weeks left in the regular season and Nick Shiambouros is perfectly placed to tell us who he thinks will take a step towards the promised land this weekend...

In the Eastern Conference any one of six teams still has a realistic chance of making the post season and this race could go down to the very last game.

The Detroit Pistons had every chance to beat Cleveland on Tuesday evening but once again they came up short, losing 79-73. This display was nothing short of abysmal considering the importance of the game. Once again Rip Hamilton was the only player that showed any real passion on the floor. Rasheed Wallace picked up yet another technical foul for abusing an official and Alan Iverson is not shooting the ball well at all. The Pistons may well creep in to the play-offs but if they do I will be pushing the lay button in the opening round.

Also on Tuesday, the Charlotte Bobcats stunned the Los Angeles Lakers with a comprehensive victory 94-84. The Lakers were given a lesson in defence in this hard fought victory.


There was another upset on Wednesday night as the Orlando Magic lost to Toronto 99-95 at Amway Arena. Chris Bosh once again showed what a talent he is scoring 24 points. There are plenty of opportunities to make money laying the best teams in the country at skinny prices and this strategy has been very rewarding in the past week with both Sacramento and Toronto upsetting Chicago and Phoenix on Sunday.

This Saturday the Philadelphia 76ers host the Detroit Pistons in a critical game for the visiting team. I really like the chances of Philadelphia in this intriguing contest. The 76ers have really had a very good second half of the season and have climbed to fifth place in the Eastern Conference. Andre Iguodala leads this team in scoring averaging just over 18 points per game for this unfashionable but talented rotation. I have been very impressed with Philadelphia in recent weeks and they should take advantage of a disappointing Piston team.

On Sunday the Dallas Mavericks should finally extinguish any play-off chances that the Phoenix Suns have with a victory. The Mavericks have been playing with a lot of intensity in the last few weeks and will be keen to eliminate the Suns from the play-off race. With a win on Sunday Dallas will be able to rest some players before the start of the play-offs.

There are strong rumors that the current Phoenix rotation will be broken up at the end of the season . This is inevitable, in my opinion, and veteran point guard Steve Nash , Shaquille O'Neal and Grant Hill will probably be traded during the Summer. O'Neal should have been traded a while ago. He is a great player but I have been concerned by his cavalier attitude in recent weeks. He will have plenty of time to reflect on his behavior when the regular season ends later on this month.

Recommendation:

Saturday - Back Philadelphia in the outright market

Sunday - Back Dallas with advertised handicap