Late Money Backing San Antonio Spurs

With Game 1 of the NBA Finals set to tip off this evening, it appears as if most of the late money is backing San Antonio (-7.5) at Sportsbook.com.

This is Carrie Stroup reporting for Sports911.com.   Ever since the line came out earlier in the week, the “public” was all over the red hot Cavaliers. However, the money backing the Cavaliers has decreased each day. On Monday as much as 80% of the action booked, was in favor of the Cinderella Cavaliers; by Thursday afternoon that number has decreased to about 54%.

After falling behind the Pistons 2-0 in the Conference Finals, the Cavaliers rolled off four straight victories behind the heroics of superstar Lebron James to advance to the Finals. James matured light-years in the Pistons series and it will be interesting to see if he can continue this high level of play against a Spurs team that allows only 90.8 PPG. The Cavs have been absolutely brilliant ATS having covered their last six games. This isn’t a new trend for the Cavs who have been golden against the league’s elite. During the second half of the season versus teams with a winning record, the Cavs are 20-8 ATS including 11-4-1 in the playoffs.

Cleveland also thrives in the role of underdog. For the season, Cleveland is 21-10 as a dog including 6-1 in the playoffs. Another trend that Cleveland bettors must be salivating over is that during the second half of the season over the last two seasons Cleveland is 25-8 ATS versus teams that average over 46% from the field. The average score of those games was Cleveland 98.2, their opponents 94.4. The Spurs have been rock solid to Spurs bettors as well during the playoffs. They too have an ATS record of 11-4-1 including five covers in their last six games. They should definitely be well rested as they are coming off seven days rest.

The question is: could they come out a little rusty as some teams do off of so much rest? The answer is most likely: doubtful. The Spurs, as everyone knows, is a team that thrives in the playoffs. They already have three championships over the last nine years and always play their best ball during the postseason.

For all of your NBA playoff betting, be sure to log on to Sportsbook.com. With all of the latest lines, props and futures; Sportsbook.com is the place to “score big” during the playoffs. Also be sure to check out our “Trends” section to see who the public is backing. There is no bettor way to predict a possible line change then by seeing who the “public” has their money on.

----

Carrie Stroup, Sports911.com

Originally published June 7, 2007 2:54 pm ET