Online Sports Books Favor Miami for NBA Finals

As the conference semi-finals swing into motion in the NBA, LeBron James and the Miami Heat have emerged as the title favorites according to online and mobile sportsbooks. Beating the Celtics last night for a 2-0 lead in the best of 7 series certainly helps their cause.

NBA Playoffs Betting Preview

Miami, who started with a lot of hype but some would say fell short of regular season expectations, were being quoted 1.32 odds by Bwin to win their series against Boston, which they lead 2-0 in the series. In the other Eastern Conference series, the Chicago Bulls are still a 1.36 favorite to defeat Atlanta in their best-of-seven series, despite dropping the first game at home.

Over in the West, nothing much has changed over the years, and the LA Lakers remain the team to beat. Kobe Bryant's boys are 1.59 favorites to defeat the Dallas Mavericks, despite also dropping game one. Meanwhile, Kevin Durant's Oklahoma City Thunder, 1.80, and the Memphis Grizzlies, 2.05, were closely matched as that series headed into a second game Tuesday.

NBA Title Betting Odds

This season is looking as close as ever, as the William Hill online sports book betting odds reveal:

• Miami, 2/1
• LA Lakers, 7/2
• Chicago, 5/1
• Dallas, 6/1
• Boston, 13/2
• Oklahoma City, 10/1
• Memphis, 14/1
• Atlanta, 25/1