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The Los Angeles Lakers are ready to reclaim their status as the top team in LA. For the last four seasons, the Lakers have played second fiddle to the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers blew everything up in the offseason though as Chris Paul, JJ Redick, and Jamal Crawford all left in the offseason. They still have Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan though and that makes them competitive for as long as Griffin can stay healthy. Now, let’s see if the Lakers can catch up to the Clippers.Don’t miss the hardwood action from the Staples Center at 10:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, October 19, 2017. Catch every moment of the game live on TNT. We’ll have NBA opening odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the NBA Thursday schedule.... 

The San Antonio Spurs have always been a contender under head coach Gregg Popovich. San Antonio has made the playoffs in each of his 20 seasons in charge, and has won five NBA championships during that time. Once again, the Spurs are being overlooked at the start of this season after the recent flashy additions that Houston and Oklahoma City made in order to stay competitive in the brutal Western Conference. They will start their season against the Minnesota Timberwolves.Don’t miss the hardwood action from the AT&T Center at 9:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, October 18, 2017. Catch every moment of the game live on ESPN. We’ll have NBA opening odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the NBA Wednesday schedule.... 

Trust the Process. That’s all we heard from Sam Hinkie when he was in charge of the Philadelphia 76ers and now it’s time for his hard work to pay off. The 76ers have oodles of young talent and are looking to show that they are ready to post their first winning record since 2004-05. Philadelphia took some big strides forward last season and looks to continue that into this year. Its first opponent this season, the Washington Wizards, will be looking to take another step forward too. The Wizards have made it to the Eastern Conference Semifinals in three of the last four seasons, but have been unable to advance any further. Last year, they took Boston to seven games before falling, and are looking to win two playoff series this time around.... 

The best team in the NBA is looking to defend its crown and win its third title in four years. Few analysts are picking anyone other than the Golden State Warriors to reign supreme over the NBA once again. Golden State is loaded with talent and has the best starting five in league history, and some key role players to boot. The Warriors will be hosting the Houston Rockets in their opener. Houston shook things up this offseason by adding Chris Paul and the hope is that he and James Harden will make up a lethal backcourt.... 

The NBA schedule makers must have some incredible foresight. The opening night matchup between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics was already sure to be one of the most heated games on the slate due to a burgeoning rivalry between Cleveland and Boston. However, this meeting got a lot more spicy in the offseason when these two teams decided to swap franchise cornerstones. Cleveland sent Kyrie Irving to Boston in exchange for Isaiah Thomas after Irving publicly demanded a trade. Irving has been throwing shade at Cleveland these last few months and his return home should be saucy.... 

The player to beat is going to be Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball. He went No. 2 overall, and has the right talent and opportunity to make a quick impact. There is nobody standing in the way of Ball coming in right away and putting up solid numbers. He stuffed the stat sheet at UCLA as a freshman, and should be able to contribute nicely in points, rebounds and assists for the Lakers.... 

The Lakers cleared out DeAngelo Russell in a trade before the draft, which means Ball should have plenty of playing time available to succeed. The totals in the prop bet are not too high, and a solid rookie season would mean the “overs” are the correct choices when it comes to his points and assists total for the 2017-18 NBA regular season.... 

While Fultz is still somewhat raw, his ceiling is high and Philadelphia will aim to finally turn the corner this season and become competitive. Fultz’s ability to transition to the NBA will be key, and the oddsmakers have created a pair of prop bets pegging how many points and assists they believe he will be able to average during the 2017-18 regular season.... 

The Cleveland Cavaliers aren’t quite done yet. Facing a sweep, LeBron James and his teammates put together an inspired performance in Game 4, rushing out to a big lead early and then cruised to the win. Cleveland led from wire-to-wire and has finally picked up some momentum while it aims to add some intrigue to the NBA Finals.... 

The teams will face off in Game 4 in Cleveland, and it’s fair to wonder if the Cavs have anything left in the tank. Kevin Durant hit a clutch 3-pointer in the final minute as Golden State stole Game 3 to take a 3-0 lead in the series.While the Cavs do once again have the home court advantage, there is little reason to believe they will have the type of comeback they did last season to win the title after being down 3-1 in the series. The Warriors are going to be road favorites once again as they aim to sweep Cleveland and go an astounding 16-0 in the postseason.... 

The Cavs get to go home and aim to rally like they did on the way to last year’s title, but it won’t be easy against a Golden State team playing at an elite level. The Warriors are slight favorites even on the road, and this is a turning point game in this series.All indications are that the Warriors are going to roll to the title, but Cleveland is hoping it can make a stand in this one and sow some doubt into Golden State. Tune in for an intriguing contest between these teams.... 

The Golden State Warriors continued their postseason dominance in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, rolling past the Cleveland Cavaliers to take an early series lead in their quest for another championship. Kevin Durant was fantastic in the contest and he is a big reason why the Warriors are heavy favorites to claim back the title after Cleveland won it last year.... 

Each side has one recent championship and Golden State will enter as the favorite to pick up a second. The Cavs rallied from a 3-1 deficit to win last year’s title and would love to pull another upset. Golden State has the home court advantage in this series by virtue of its superior regular season record, and will aim to grab an early series lead.The Warriors are decent favorites to win Game 1 but the Cavaliers are playing well and shouldn’t be counted out.... 

The Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers will face off once again for the championship. The Cavs famously rallied from a 3-1 lead to pull out a huge upset a year ago and claim the title over Golden State. The Warriors are the favorites once again and have Kevin Durant this time around as they aim for revenge.These are clearly the two best teams in the league and the expectation from the start of the year was that they would meet in the finals. Both squads come in playing extremely well and this could be a fantastic series showcasing some of the best players in the world.... 

The Celtics pulled off a colossal upset in Game 3 and led at halftime last time out, but they will be underdogs again in this one despite playing at home. Between the way Cleveland has been rolling in the playoffs and the absence of Boston’s star guard, Isaiah Thomas, the Cavs will be expected to win this one and clinch their spot in the NBA Finals.This war on the floor will go down Thursday, May 25, 2017, at 8:30 p.m. ET at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. The game will be televised live on TNT.... 

Boston was a 16-point underdog and was betting at +1400 on the moneyline, so those who took the Celtics to win the game were massively rewarded. Despite the unthinkable upset, Cleveland is still a virtual shoo-in to advance to the NBA Finals and will once again be a heavy favorite in Game 4.While the Celtics showed flashes of potential in the win last time out, they are still without star shooting guard Isaiah Thomas and will have trouble winning another game in this series. Cleveland is expected to rebound in impressive fashion in Game 4.... 

The San Antonio Spurs looked better in their second game in the Western Conference Finals without star Kawhi Leonard. It still didn’t matter. While San Antonio hung around early, the Golden State Warriors’ talent was too much as the game wore on and they won another one for a 3-0 series lead.... 

The Cleveland Cavaliers are looking unstoppable. They dominated the Boston Celtics in each of the first two games on the road in the Eastern Conference Finals and will be heavy favorites in Game 3. Cleveland gets to return home for this game and the Celtics may be without star point guard Isaiah Thomas.... 

Cleveland dominated from start to finish against Boston in Game 1, cruising to the road victory. The Cavaliers have been dominant throughout the postseason and will aim to pick up a win in Game 2 as well. If that happens, they could make quick work of the Celtics since the following two games will be back in Cleveland.Boston’s back is against the wall and it will need to play much better in this series or risk getting run over on the Cavaliers’ march to the NBA Finals.... 

The Warriors went up 2-0 in the Western Conference Finals with an easy win last time out. The Spurs will return home hoping the crowd can help re-energize them, although Golden State figures to be the road favorite based on its dominance last time out.The Warriors are 10-0 in the postseason and look to cruise into the NBA Finals. This game will determine whether San Antonio will be able to put up a fight.... 

The Cavaliers have won all eight of their postseason games and will aim to keep that streak alive. Boston was expected to get here, but the Celtics needed everything they had to get past the Bulls in the opening round and the Wizards in the second round.The Celtics knocked out Washington in Game 7 at home last time out and would love to treat their fans to another critical win to open this series. However, it is going to be tough with as well as Cleveland is playing right now.... 

The San Antonio Spurs had a huge lead and a healthy Kawhi Leonard in the first game of the Western Conference Finals on Sunday afternoon. By the end of it, they had neither. The Golden State Warriors rallied from a huge deficit to claim Game 1, and Leonard re-injured his ankle in the third quarter.... 

John Wall saved the season. Now he’s hoping to extend it some more. The Washington Wizards’ star point guard hit a game-winning three-pointer in Game 6 to set up a win-or-go-home Game 7 against the Boston Celtics which will decide who will advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.... 

The Golden State Warriors haven’t faced a challenge through two rounds of the postseason, but that’s about to change. Golden State will be tested in the Western Conference Finals by the San Antonio Spurs.... 

This has been a close series throughout even though only Game 2 was super competitive. The Celtics will aim to stick in this one early in order to ramp up the pressure on the Wizards. Washington, though, seems like it should be a solid favorite based on its performances in Games 3 and 4.The Cavaliers are waiting in the Eastern Conference Finals, but the Wizards hope to keep them in limbo for another couple days by defending their home court in Game 6....