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With so many star NBA teams this season doing well (The Heat, Celtics, Lakers, Knicks, Mavericks, just to name a few), the online bookmakers are hoping for a banner day in terms of betting come Christmas Day with a handful of marquee games on tap to bet on. As of Friday morning, BetUS.com had released a series of betting props for the Christmas Day games. (See Ad Below)
The day kicks off at 12 noon EST with the Chicago Bulls vs. New York Knicks. Both storied teams meet up with their best records in years. The Bulls have 17 wins and 9 losses while the Knicks were at 16-12, having lost three straight at press time Wednesday. Chicago was expected to be a 1-point favorite.
Boston plays in Orlando at 2:30 pm EST. As of this writing, the Celtics were winners of 13 straight. The Magic were floundering a bit at 16-12, having lost their last four games. They were also 4 games behind Miami in the Southeast Division. Boston was likely to be listed as a 3-point favorite.
Perhaps the hottest game of the day pits the Miami Heat against the Los Angles Lakers. Miami is coming off a loss against the Mavericks having enjoyed a 12-game win streak. They’ll face a Lakers team that has won 8 of their last 10 games.
Gambling911.com anticipates Los Angles to be listed as a 2-point favorite.
Later games include Denver vs. Oklahoma City and Portland vs. Golden State, neither of which are terribly romantic, but the Nuggets-Thunder game should be competitive with both teams enjoying a winning season so far.
“The online bookmakers are banking on heavy betting this Christmas Day in conjunction with the 30 percent increase in television ratings for the league this year,” remarked Don Shapiro of Gambling911.com.
Sportsbooks typically see average betting activity with NBA daily matchups and some spike for televised games. The NBA Playoffs enjoy above average wagering. But this year the online bookmakers are looking to cash in on the sports increased popularity thanks to some high profile teams.
Even without counting Lebron James and the Miami Heat, ratings are up 23 percent this year.
"It tipped off with a great deal of interest about the Heat and about 'The Decision,'" NBA Commissioner David Stern said last week, "and it seems to have gone from there, when the story lines have unfolded were not about the Heat initially -- except about their struggles -- but about San Antonio, New Orleans' start, the Knicks' start, the Lakers' start and the Lakers suddenly stumbling a little bit, the Celtics' strength.
"It's across the board," Stern said, "a whole variety of story lines."
Lakers ESPN televised game ratings are up 58 percent in the Los Angeles market while there has been a 56 percent NBA ratings increase in Boston and 36 percent increase in New York.
- Tyrone Black, Gambling911.com
