NBA Finals Game #5 Pick: Heat vs. Mavericks

Preview:

The Mavericks are coming off an 86-83 win over the Heat in game #4 to even the NBA finals at 2 games a piece. Again the Mavs trailed in the 4th quarter but the Mavericks made another late push led by Nowitzki who was battling a 101 degree fever. Reports have Nowitzki feeling considerably better the morning following game #4. Lebron had another disappointing game for the Heat. Lebron finished game #4 with 8 points on just 11 shots. The Heat will need a much better effort from Lebron tonight. Keep in mind the NBA finals are on a 2-3-2 scheduling format. So game #5 takes place from Dallas again tonight. Game #6 and #7 (if necessary) will both be in Miami. The overwhelming trend in this series has been both teams alternating wins. No team has yet to win two games in a row in this series. And from a totals perspective we have seen all 4 games go under the total. As a result we are seeing a total of 184.5 for game #5 (about 3-4 points lower than the totals for games 1-4).

Betting Line for game #5 NBA Finals:

Miami Heat to win are paying 1.91 to win at Bodog.

The Dallas Mavericks are paying 1.91 to win at Bodog.

The Total for this game is 184.5 points.

Selection:

The line for this game says it all. The Mavericks were a -3 favorite at home for game #4 and now the Mavericks and Heat are virtually a pick 'em everywhere for game #5. So basically the Oddsmakers are telling us they expect the Heat to win this game. If you look at the odds to win the NBA Championship you will see the Miami Heat are a huge favorite (1.45 range). This is another strong indicator that the Oddsmakers like the Heat in tonight's game. Both teams have been alternating wins and losses in the series so far and I think we see that continue here tonight. Give us the Heat to get the win in game #5 of the NBA Finals.

Taking the MIAMI HEAT To Win Game #5 NBA Finals @ 1.91

(Offered at Bodog)

Risking 110.00 To Win 100.00