Celtics, Lakers Final Means Big Betting in NBA

The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers are on the verge of meeting in the NBA finals for an historic 12th time, and that is big news for bookmakers and bettors alike.

The Celtics have won nine of the previous 11 finals series between the two teams, including the most recent in 2008, but the Lakers remain favorites for the NBA title because of their far stronger regular season record this year.

Boston, who lead Orlando 3-1 in the Eastern Conference finals series, have made one of the greatest runs of all times to the championship decider, having defeated Miami and then Cleveland after finishing fourth in the conference in the regular season.

Los Angeles, on the other hand, are in the box seat to close out Phoenix in their series after finishing with the best record in the West, and nothing less than a 16th championship (one less than Boston have won) would be acceptable to their fans.

The Lakers are 4/6 at William Hill for the championship, ahead of Boston, 6/4. Phoenix is 14/1 and Orlando 16/1, given that both still maintain a flicker of hope of making it to the title matchup.