If the Miami Heat loses to the Dallas Mavericks in tonight's Game-5 of the 2011 NBA Finals, they will have only themselves to blame. Tip-off is set for 9 pm ET at American Airlines Center in Dallas, the Mavericks' home court and site of the final playoffs game in the Big-D this year. Following Thursday's game, the series shifts to Miami for Game-6 on Sunday and if needed, Game-7.
This best of seven games series is currently tied-up at 2-2 but oddsmakers offshore list the Heat as -240 NBA Finals Odds favorites to win the championship while Mavericks backers are getting +190 as underdogs.
For Game-5, oddsmakers have lined the game a PICK at a price of -110 with a posted 184 1/2 game total (over/under), also priced at -110 either way.
According to early betting trends, Miami is getting 71% betting attention ATS while 95% are wagering on the Heat to win Game-5 SU. In totals wagering, the UNDER (184 1/2) is the desired choice by 59% of players. Previous game trends show Miami covering ATS in two of the four games while the Mavericks covered ATS one time with a push in Game-4. The UNDER has cashed for totals backers in all four finals games. Looking at the previous eight games played between the teams, Dallas holds a 4-2-1 edge ATS and 5-3 advantage SU.
There are some alternate betting methods that can enhance fans enjoyment of the NBA Playoffs other than traditional side, moneyline and totals wagering. One of the premier sports shops in the business, BODOG.eu is offering multiple options in both team and player props including exact series results, betting total games played and more.
With NBA Finals Odds player props, one can bet an over/under on how many points LeBron James will score tonight and make another bet on his number of rebounds and total assists. The same wagering options are open for Dwayne Wade and all other starters playing.
