It may not always be better to burn out then to fade away, especially not in circumstances were there is no guarantee of an end. After a long NFL lockout it appears as though the NBA is set to go through one of its own, although in the case of professional basketball all signs are pointing to it being a long and tedious year in which games are actually lost. The NBA simply cannot afford to lose a season at this point in time, and it could have a lasting negative sports betting effect if it does.

The NFL lockout will be considered acceptable for two major reasons. First, the NFL is popular unlike any professional sport, drawing more revenue and audience than baseball, basketball, or hockey at the highest level. Second, the NFL won’t lose any games if the lockout is lifted this week as planned, meaning that without a single preseason match cancelled the league will not lose a single dollar in revenue based on sports betting bonus attendances. The NBA on the other hand is in a different situation, especially considering their smaller markets. There is no comparison between the Green Bay Packers of the NFL and the Minnesota Timberwolves of the NBA, as one small market will consistently thrive while the other is very vulnerable. With college basketball, the rise of the NHL over the past couple of years, and the NFL, the NBA could be in major trouble for longer than just the immediate future in the event of an extended lockout.

While the debate rages on about which is the better online sports betting player of all-time between Miami Heat forward Lebron James and Chicago Bulls’ legend Michael Jordan, the answer can be found in the previous two lines alone. Scottie Pippen surprised everybody when he stepped up and said Lebron could be better, while Isiah Thomas joined the debate recently to also side with him, but both have made a critical error in judgment that has cost them in this debate. Lebron will never be considered in the same class as Jordan, and there is no question that at this point in his career he isn’t even close.

The biggest problem isn’t weighing the statistics in two eras where they can very well be skewed due to talent level, style, and the way that the game has developed. When Jordan broke through it was revolutionary, there was no debate. Now that Lebron is here it is all about comparison and debate. Jordan brought titles to Chicago like no player in the history of the game, while Lebron failed to bring one to Cleveland and then jumped ship to join Miami. If the Heat don’t win a title this year, they could very well not get another chance. How can a player that hasn’t won a single title be compared to one that has more than any player in the history of the game? Even if Lebron wins with the Heat, can he be called the best player on his own team? After all, Dwayne Wade will always be one title ahead of him, and he did it without the help of Lebron and Chris Bosh. The debate will live on even in the days after this finals and the 2011 Belmont Stakes betting race, but the fact remains that the title belongs to Jordan and always will.

Tonight, Belmont betting enthusiasts will shift their attention from horse racing to the NBA, as the 2010 – 11 seasons’ finals featuring the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks starts in Miami tonight. If you are sports betting with your brain, chances are you have the Miami Heat winning this series in six games. However, if you wager with your heart, you will take Dallas in seven. Here is a preview for tonight’s matchup.

This year’s NBA finals, is a rematch of the 2005 – 2006 finals when the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks became the first two teams ever to reach the NBA final each for the time in their franchises history. In that series, similar to this one, many fans and experts alike believed that the Heat would win the series. What’s more, that series seemingly was the turning point in Dwayne Wade’s career, where he went from relative unknown to elite level superstar.

Now five years removed, Wade has come full circle, as he looks to beat the Mavericks for a second time in the NBA finals. This time however, one can argue that the Heat have a much better supporting cast for Wade, as he now has friends LeBron James and Chris Bosh two other elite level players on his wings. What’s more, given the drastic change in image over the past 11 months, anything short of an NBA title for the Miami Heat, can be considered by many to be a disappointment.

On the other side of things, the Dallas Mavericks comparable to the Miami Heat are led by an elite level superstar in Dirk Nowitzki. This year’s Mavericks team has appeared to be the best in franchise history, as simply put they have dominated every team in the ever difficult Western Conference. From sweeping Kobe Bryant’s Lakers in the second round to a date with the big three in Miami, the Mavericks appear destined for great things. Like the Heat, if the Mavericks don’t win the NBA title, this year will be considered a disappointment for many.

It has been 30 days, and finally Preakness betting fans also following the NBA, can watch the Conference finals. For the first time in roughly three years, the four remaining teams in the NBA sports betting finals have an opportunity to wipe the label of middle of the pack from their resumes. Here is our prediction for which two teams will move on from the Conference finals to battle it out for the NBA title.

The NBA Conference finals are already underway, with the Chicago Bulls up one game to nothing over the Miami Heat. Meanwhile, the Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks will renew acquaintances tonight for game one in Dallas. On paper, the Mavericks should be able to crush the Thunder, since they have been resting for the last week, while Oklahoma City has just finished up a grueling seven game series with the Memphis Grizzlies.

In the Eastern Conference, already up one game to nothing, the Chicago Bulls appear poised and ready to return to the NBA finals for the first time in 13 years. Meanwhile, the new look Heat is aiming for their second NBA finals appearance since 2006, when they defeated the Dallas Mavericks for the NBA title.

As breeders cup betting sports fans, we are all about dream finals, and for many people, they would like to see the Dallas Mavericks take on Miami in the finals. However, a Dallas verses Chicago final wouldn’t be too bad either. But what about the Oklahoma City Thunder? Are they simply a stepping stone for the Mavericks to return to the NBA finals?

In our opinion, the Oklahoma City Thunder should be able to get over the hump this year and into the NBA final. They will face the Chicago Bulls, similar to the Seattle Supersonics (OKC before location change) from 1996 – 1997 seasons. Only this time, with Kendrick Perkins at center, the Thunder should be able to win the franchise’s first NBA title since being in Seattle in 1979.

The 2011 Kentucky Derby betting event signals that the second round of the NBA playoffs is finally upon us. With only eight teams remaining in the playoffs, betting online enthusiasts should have a better idea as to which teams will win and which will look at what went wrong when the round comes to an end. Here are our picks for round two.

Eastern Conference:

The 2010 – 11 Eastern Conference semi-finals between the Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks, as well as the Miami Heat taking on the Boston Celtics, features four of the best teams in the entire league. Just from looking at the matchups, the logical choice is to take the Chicago Bulls and Boston Celtics. However, after one game each for these two series, making a decision on who to pick is way harder than we imagined.

On the one hand, the Chicago Bulls looked like a team that was expecting to have an easier time with the Atlanta Hawks after the Hawks disappointed their fans in last season’s first round. This Hawks team is playing with a chip on their shoulder, as they attempt to show their fans that last year was a fluke, and the Hawks have come to play this year. In last night’s victory over the Bulls, the Hawks caught several breaks including Bulls star Derrick Rose reinjuring his sprained ankle in the final moments of the game. If the Bulls lose Rose, we think it’s safe to say good night Bulls, as they don’t look like a team that can win without a superstar.

Conversely, the Celtics and Heat series opened up with some controversy, as it appeared that the officials wanted the game and perhaps the series to be about them and not the two teams playing. Each side received some brutal calls against them by the officials. With that said, Miami has three of the youngest stars in the NBA joining forces, and anything less than a series win will be considered a disappointment.

For all of the talk about how the Boston Celtics are not prepared to go on a second consecutive run to the NBA finals with a veteran team that has struggled down the stretch, perhaps somebody should take a quick look back at what happened to last year’s team. The Celtics went .500 over the final couple of months of the season behind the Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic in the Eastern conference standings, but came alive to push the Los Angeles Lakers to seven games before conceding the NBA championship in the finals. The pressure will be on the Lakers to three-peat, but it won’t happen after the improvements that Boston has made.

Gone is Kendrick Perkins to the Oklahoma City Thunder. In his place is Shaquille O’Neal, Jermaine O’Neal, Jeff Green, and Nenad Krstic. As much as Perkins was a key contributor to that Celtics’ team, the presence of both O’Neal centers as well as Krstic provides more experience and depth, and simple math outlines it as three big bodies compared to one. Kevin Garnett returns as focused and determined as he has ever been, and Glen “Big Baby” Davis has made strides in his game off the bench. The star guard tandem in Boston has become a star trio with Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Rajon Rondo all capable of handling the rock with the game on the line, and with Green to help provide that extra spark off the bench the Celtics are scary. The Lakers haven’t done enough to match the improvements that Boston has made, and after watching the Celtics push Los Angeles to seven games a year ago, this has to be their sports betting year to win it all.

The Butler Bulldogs turned heads in stunning fashion to reach the Final Four in 2010, and while those that projected them to fail in 2011 are quick to talk about how the glass slipper still fits, the truth is that they can no longer be considered a Cinderella team in this year’s Final Four. There are a couple of key reasons why the Bulldogs are a legitimate threat to win this tournament rather than just a compelling underdog story. First, Butler has won nine of ten NCAA national title tournament games since the opening of last year’s tournament, which is a better win percentage than any other team in the nation. Second, the team that they will face in the March Madness betting Final Four was a play-in that nobody expected would even make it to the tournament, and have upset a number of teams from bigger conferences including the top seed from their region in the Big 12 champion Kansas Jayhawks. The VCU Rams are this year’s Cinderella having beaten more teams than any other program in the Final Four, as the first team to have to win five games to reach the Final Four because of the extra round that was added to this year’s sports betting tournament when it was expanded to feature 68 teams. All but one of the Rams’ victories have been by double-digit totals, but that very well could come to an end against a Butler team that just knows how to win under pressure in the NCAA title tournament. The way the Madness has gone, it’s impossible to predict for sure which team will get through to the championship game. The only guarantee at this point is that the Bulldogs are not this year’s Cinderella team.

When the national rankings were adjusted once again to open the week, it was no surprise to see the Ohio State Buckeyes back in the top spot. Consecutive wins over Illinois and Indiana was enough to bolster the Buckeyes, and if they can close out the year with wins at Penn State and home to No. 10 Wisconsin, Ohio State will close out a regular season sweep. The Buckeyes lead the No. 6 Purdue Boilermakers by just one game in the Big Ten standings, and that makes the finale against the Badgers even more crucial, especially considering that Wisconsin was responsible for one of the Buckeyes’ two college basketball betting losses this year. However, Ohio State seems to have finally shaken off their tough stretch that saw them lose two of the three, and now the focus becomes even broader.

The Buckeyes will likely clinch the Big Ten title and the top spot for the national title tournament. It’s no betonline com scam, but the top seed has long been considered a jinx for potential champions, if any team is strong enough to overcome those online sports betting odds, it should be Ohio State. With leading scorer Jared Sullinger averaging an incredible 17.4 points per game and 9.8 rebounds, the Buckeyes have a superstar to rally around, with William Bufford providing the perfect compliment. The bench is deep, and Ohio State has shot an incredible 49-percent from the field, the third best mark in the country. The top seed may be a jinx, but that doesn’t make the Buckeyes any less of a threat heading in to the madness.

More than any other online sports betting forum, the NBA lacks the type of parity that can cause players to lose their cool. Whereas in the NFL the Cleveland Browns can shock the New Orleans Saints and New England Patriots, the same type of outcome is unlikely in basketball. Nine out of ten times the Los Angeles Lakers are going to beat the New Jersey Nets by double-digit points regardless of where they play. But there is another way to make sure that the odds of betting on favorites are even more in their favor.

The best way to bet on NBA is to find a favorite that is struggling and go hard in their favor. For example, if the Lakers have lost three straight and are hosting the New Jersey Nets, then even if a teaser is a good option then the odds are well in favor of betting on the defending champions. One team to keep an eye on now is the Orlando Magic. The Magic had lost six of seven games before the organization made the decision to make major changes, and although they didn’t work in their first game together, Orlando is poised for a win. They play the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs in consecutive games before playing the Boston Celtics, and will be in tough to win either of those games, which means that they will be prime candidates to stop that skid when they play at the New Jersey Nets on Monday December 27.

NBA betting players have had one eye on the NBA Finals, and one eye on the free-agent sweepstakes of Summer 2010, and business may be about to pick up if Cleveland has anything to say about it. This brewing free agnecy battle for Labron looks to be more fierce than the upcoming UFC 116 betting fight card.

The Cavaliers are apparently getting closer to coaxing Tom Izzo into leaving the comfortable confines of Michigan State for a chance at the pros.  The Cavaliers fired Mike Brown on May 24^th, and now they’re on the hunt for his successor, likely to try and keep LeBron James in town.  Izzo is a highly decorated coach who has been at Michigan State since 1983, and he was promoted to the head role in 1995, where he has been ever since.  His list of accomplishments is outstanding: one national title, six Final Four appearances, two Big Ten titles, a number of pro players, and the Spartans have made the NCAA Tournament every year since 1998.  He’s one of the most respected coaches in all of college basketball, and he’s a beloved figure in the East Lansing community (it also helps that Izzo is form Michigan as well).

Can he succeed?  It’ll be interesting to see if Izzo, who has been known to be a leader of men, can transfer that to the NBA, if he does decide to take the job in Cleveland.  The Cavaliers may even be looking in the right place, as Cleveland is already solid defensively, but they’re lacking badly in the offensive department, which right now consists of “give it to LeBron and make your open shots”.  If we were to place bets online, Izzo will be at Michigan State this upcoming season.