The excitement of NBA Finals basketball playoffs betting begins on Thursday night as the Los Angeles Lakers host the Boston Celtics in Game. Basketball finals odds between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics are tight with the series having moved to Boston for Games 3, 4 and 5. The Lakers are considered the better team but the Celtics have the home court edge so the NBA odds are just a few points.
Basketball finals odds for Game 3 had the Celtics as 2.5 point favorites. That type of point spread should be expected for Games 4 and 5 as well. It is the first time since 2004 that the NBA Finals are tied at 1-1. That year the Pistons won three straight at home to beat the Lakers in the series and win the title. The format of the NBA Finals is 2-3-2 but it has been tough for a team to win all three of the home games in the middle.
There are a lot of options in basketball finals odds in addition to the main point spread. There is a first half line, there will be a halftime line when the game goes to the half and there are NBA odds on the individual quarters. There is also an updated series price and there are props as well. There are both team and player props.
Team props begin with the first team score and continue with the first team to 10, 20 and 30 points. There are also team props on things like the first 3-pointer in the game, 3-pointers made, etc. You can also wager on how many points the Lakers will score and how many points the Celtics will score among other team props.
The player props begin with the player to score the first points in the game. There are also individual player matchups. For example, Kobe Bryant is matched up against Paul Pierce with Kobe laying eight points in that matchup. Ron Artest is matched up against Ray Allen with Allen laying 6.5 points. There are also points and rebounds matchups involving Andrew Bynum against Kendrick Perkins and Pau Gasol against Kevin Garnett. Not be forgotten are the player props on Rajon Rondo and Derek Fisher.
There are a lot of exciting options in the NBA Finals in what should be very close games in Boston between the Celtics and the Lakers.