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It felt like every season, the Phoenix Suns were being stopped on their quest to reach the NBA Finals at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs. Many thought that this year would be no exception, as Phoenix ran into the #7 Spurs in the second round of the playoffs and was the subject of many upset selections.

Upset, shmupset. Bust out the brooms instead.

The Suns absolutely blasted San Antonio in all four games, winning each by at least six points and averaging winning by 9.3 points per game. They went 4-0 ATS and have now both won and covered every NBA playoff betting line that they have faced since G Brandon Roy limped back onto the court in Game 4 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals.

The time is now for the loveable losers in the NBA. The Suns haven’t been to the NBA Finals since 1993 in the Charles Barkley days, and you have to go back to 1976 to find the only other time in franchise history that they pulled off the feat.

The city of Phoenix has yet to taste a championship in the NBA.

The time is absolutely now for Phoenix.

C Amare Stoudemire, by all accounts, will most likely be playing somewhere else next season unless he accepts his hefty player option for the 2010-11 season with the Suns. G Steve Nash isn’t getting any younger. Who knows if G Jason Richardson will ever catch this much fire again?

This team is significantly different than the ones that just flew up and down the court, played no defense, and ultimately were just muscled out of the playoffs.

Are Steve Nash and the Suns tough enough to beat the Los Angeles Lakers? You’d better believe it!

Stoudemire just did his job in the paint and 20.5 points and 9.3 rebounds per game against arguably the best power forward of our generation in F Tim Duncan. Nash was bloody up in Game 4, but came back and ultimately scored 20 points to go with nine assists. Six different players recorded blocked shots in the final game of the series as well.

In fact, Phoenix held San Antonio to 46.7 percent shooting in Game 4, 45.0 percent in Game 3, 50.6 percent in Game 2, and 45.8 percent in Game 1. When you’re the Suns and you shoot nearly 50% from the field in every game and you have eight guys that can shoot three pointers, including several that are at least 6’10″, if you hold opposing teams to those types of percentages, you’re going to win a lot of games.

Enter the Los Angeles Lakers, the defending champs in the NBA. LA was pushed to the brink in what was a very hard fought series against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Round 1, only to dismiss the Utah Jazz in four games in Round 2.

However, many accept the fact that this team isn’t as good as the one that won it all last year. G Kobe Bryant is still producing, but he is most certainly aging and most likely injured. Unlike in the last series when the Lakers absolutely dominated the glass, the Suns have enough big bodies to pound the likes of F Pau Gasol and C Andrew Bynum on the inside.

Depth won’t be an issue either, as HC Alvin Gentry isn’t afraid to call on any number or combination of ten guys to get the job done. Foul trouble won’t be an issue. Neither will fatigue… at least not for Phoenix.

The Lakers have been warned. The Suns are set to rise in the Western Conference Finals.

BetUS Sportsbook has opened up the Suns at +280 underdogs to win the Western Conference.

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The 2008-09 Orlando Magic were about as close as you can get to winning their first NBA Championship in franchise history. In the offseason, the team cut ties with F Hedo Turkoglu, a man that was largely considered the heart and soul of a squad that is headlined by C Dwight Howard.

In order to replace the Turkish superstar, GM Otis Smith went out and traded G Courtney Lee and a few other minor pieces for G Vince Carter, who was largely thought to be washed up, and a host of role players, including F Matt Barnes, G Jason Williams, and C Brandon Bass.

So just like most Magic fans, I immediately thought to myself, “Fantastic. We just replaced a superstar for a has-been, two stiffs, and a nut case.”

All that has-been has done this year is average 16.3 points per game and rejuvenate his career.

All the nut case does is annoy the heck out of the opposition, score 8.7 points per game, and does a little bit of everything. Oh yeah, and he got down and dirty and got into the face of G Kobe Bryant when the Lakers came to town last weekend.

Believe it or not, this version of the Orlando Magic may really be better than ever. And there’s never been a better time to strike and capture the city’s first major championship ever than right now.

Just take one look at the Eastern Conference. Even though things aren’t as disgraceful this year as they were a year ago when everyone outside of Orlando, Boston, and Cleveland were all god awful, they’re still pretty bad.

Does anyone really believe that the Magic (or Cavs for that matter) are going to even get remotely challenge by Miami, Charlotte, or anyone else in the bottom of the Eastern Conference in the first round?

Setting up a date with the Celtics in the second round seems like a very realistic possibility, and it also feels like a lot easier task than the Magic faced last season when they had to win Game 7 at Boston Garden to reach the Eastern Conference Finals.

So let’s just fast forward to the inevitable Orlando/Cleveland matchup, shall we?

Last season, there really wasn’t a warm body that could hang with F LeBron James defensively. Now, that nut case Barnes is the man that can get the job done. F Rashard Lewis and Cleveland’s F Antawn Jamison are largely the exact same player and will cancel each other out.

Who’s stopping Superman again? Shaq? I think not.

Cleveland may be the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference, but after six games, Orlando will once again be the team playing in the NBA Finals.

However, that’s not good enough in the home of Mickey Mouse this year. It’s championship or bust, and the entire franchise and the city of Orlando both know it.

Unlike last year’s team that lived and died by the three-pointer and Howard in the post, this team has more slashing ability to the paint. Carter isn’t afraid to get his jersey a little messy, and G JJ Redick has developed a lot more of an inside game that he has had in years past when he was nothing but a three-point shooter. The bench is utilized a lot more as well, as any combination of 11 guys can play 15+ minutes any given night. It’s also a team that can play at the sluggish knockdown , drag out pace that both Cleveland and Boston like to play at.

No team in the NBA is holding teams to a worse shooting percentage than Orlando is at 43.6%. Its 95.3 points per game allowed in the sixth best mark in the league.

The one thing that you can’t measure based on statistics is heart, and it’s that heart, along with tenacity, and toughness that has led the Magic to a six-game winning streak that will probably be stretched out to at least 11 before playing at Atlanta on March 24th.

Mickey Mouse has an angry scowl on his face this season, and if he doesn’t walk away from this season with an NBA Championship, he may never get one.

The intense NBA Playoff action has got off to a great start as most teams have at least played 2 games in their opening round match-ups. There have been few upsets and unexpected outcomes like the underdog Chicago Bulls upsetting the defending NBA Champions the Boston Celtics in the opening round. Cleveland, Los Angeles, and Boston are among the most heralded big names heading into the post-season as they are leading favorites to make it to the NBA Finals. However, we will take a look at few of the teams that could play the spoiler role and be the Cinderella type story usually only found in March Madness. If you also have any confidence that these underdogs may have what it takes to pull of big upsets, take advantage of betting odds now while you could really cash-in to make huge profits.

Chicago Bulls

Chicago upset over Boston may have opened a lot of eyes, but this was really not that big of a surprise. The Bulls rallied to close out the season winning 12 of their last 16 games which also included a victory over the Celtics. The emergence of Derrick Rose towards the end of the season has given the Bulls a much needed boost. Rose also dropped 36 in the opening round two point victory in Boston. Chicago’s ability to at least split the two games in Boston was better than expect considering how well the Celtics have played at home. The Bulls could really have a chance to put the defending Champions a way if they could take advantage of the home games. If the Bulls can indeed come out victorious in the series, they will get winner of Philadelphia and Orlando in the semi-finals. Both of those teams have been inconsistent and closed out the season poorly. Of course for anyone to make the NBA Finals out of the Eastern Conference they would have to find away to beat Cleveland at home. Still the +3500 odds are eye catching and even though it may seem nearly impossible for the Bulls to put together this type of run, it is definitely worth the consideration.

Denver Nuggets

Is it that surprisingly that Los Angeles is huge -450 favorites to win the Western Conference. Probably not considering how they have dominated the teams out West all season with a demanding 44-8 record in the conference. However, history tells us that the odds to make it back to the NBA Finals after losing in the Finals the year before are against you by a fairly good margin. Taking the consideration that something will happen to the dominate Lakers along the stretch; there is only one team that could really step up to challenge in the West and that is the Denver Nuggets. Sure the Lakers won 3 out of 4 over the Nuggets through the regular season and it would seem absurd to bet against them. However, Denver is rather streaky team that can put together strings of wins. After a dominating 113-84 victory in Game 1 over New Orleans, you would not expect their to be too much trouble in the series. The next series would include two tough post-season teams in Dallas or San Antonio. Here again Denver talent should prevail and keep building some confidence that will give them a new attitude with the Lakers when the opportunity for a championship is on the line. The +800 odds help make this scenario look better as well. It comes down to this, sure the Lakers are everyone’s favorites to win the West but if anyone can beat the Lakers then who would it be? We say Denver.

Orlando Magic

Think we would forget one of most dominant teams from earlier in the season? Sure Orlando gave up an 18 point deficit to Philadelphia in an embarrassing loss in game 1, but they may have been the best thing to happen for Orlando. Expect them to come out firing in Wednesday’s second game with the 76ers. Remember Orlando for large majority of the season contended with Cleveland and Boston for Eastern Conference supremacy. However, after the injury to Jameer Nelson midway through the season the Magic’s momentum took a crucial blow. Even without Nelson, Orlando handed Cleveland their biggest loss of the season when they blew out the Cavaliers 116-87 back on April 3rd. The most likely scenario that plays out in the Eastern Conference will be Orlando rallying back against Philadelphia and then taking down either Chicago or Boston in the semi-finals. This would set the stage for a classic 7 games series with Orlando and after that huge victory a few weeks ago does anyone really think the Magic will doubt if they can beat Cleveland? Dwight Howard ability to control the glass will make a big difference in the long run and if Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis can find away to score some points then rest assured you have not heard the last from the Magic.

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