NBA Finals betting can oftentimes be profitable if you look simply at the coaching factor. Only six coaches have won an NBA Championship in the last 21 years of NBA Finals wagering history. NBA Finals odds show that Los Angeles Lakers head coach Phil Jackson has 9 of those titles as head man with the Bulls and Lakers.
NBA Finals wagering is all about finding an edge and looking at the head coach is a good way to go. In addition to Jackson’s 9 titles, Pat Riley has three titles in that time period and won more in earlier years. Greg Popovich has won four titles with San Antonio. Chuck Daly won two titles with the Pistons in the early 90’s, Rudy Tomjanovich won two titles with Houston and Larry Brown won with Detroit in 2004. That is only six coaches in the last 21 years that have won in NBA Finals wagering . Do you want your money on Phil Jackson or Doc Rivers in NBA Finals odds?
So far in NBA Finals wagering the public is going with the Lakers in 2008. The Celtics have the home court edge yet they are 2-1 underdogs to win the NBA Finals betting series. Perhaps that is because of Jackson versus Rivers but more likely it is because the Lakers are a public team and they have Kobe Bryant. It could be that the Lakers are the favorite in NBA Finals wagering because they are the higher scoring team. They averaged just about 108 points per game while Boston was just over 100. Defensively though, the Celtics are the better team as they were the best team in the NBA in field goal percentage allowed this season and second in points allowed.
Breaking down the NBA Finals odds matchups the two teams are fairly even with the edge going to Boston in the frontcourt and the Lakers in the backcourt. There are three edges that stand out in this NBA Finals betting series and two of the three go to the Lakers in NBA Finals odds. The Celtics do have the home court advantage in NBA Finals betting but the Lakers have league MVP Kobe Bryant and perhaps the greatest coach in NBA history in Phil Jackson. Perhaps that is why the Lakers are favored in 2008 NBA Finals betting to win the series. It also may help the Lakers in NBA Finals betting that the series is 2-3-2.