NBA championship odds had Denver as one of the top challengers to Los Angeles’ reign in the Western Conference, but they head into Thursday’s Game 5 against the Jazz trying to stave off elimination to send the series back to Utah, and there have been some obvious signs of disharmony in the locker room.

Jazz vs Nuggets odds – Wednesday, April 28, 10:30 PM ET

The Nuggets fell 117-106 in Utah in Game 4, and after the game, Carmelo Anthony called out some of his teammates for not playing hard.   J.R. Smith (in the “pot calling kettle black” statement of the year) responded on his Twitter feed by saying Anthony was selfish and the reason they lost.  The Nuggets did have only 13 assists in the game, but Anthony had a game-high 39 points on 13-of-26 shooting and surely can’t be to blame for the loss (meanwhile, Smith was 3-of-11 for 10 points).  Anthony wasn’t the problem, it was a leaky defense that allowed the Jazz to do whatever they wanted.

The Jazz shot 53.2% from the floor, powered by 31 points and 13 boards from Carlos Boozer, who abused an obviously-still-hurt Kenyon Martin, while Deron Williams had 24 points and 13 boards, and he’s probably been the best player in the West so far in these playoffs.  The Jazz had 24 assists and were moving the ball around, and their play without two of their starters has been nothing short of outstanding.  Of course, it always helps to play a team that is imploding, but you have to think that the Jazz are aiding in Denver’s self-destruction.

The Nuggets will probably be favored at home by NBA betting odds, but the Jazz have shown they can win in Denver as they proved in their 114-111 Game 2 victory.  The Nuggets are going to have to get their act together in a hurry if they want to extend their series, because no amount of talent will help a team that can’t get out of their own way.  Martin hasn’t been anywhere close to 100% since spending the better part of the season’s second half on the bench with a knee injury, and he is clearly no match for Boozer, who is averaging 22 points and 11 boards in the series.  Meanwhile, Chauncey Billups is having a tough time keeping up with Williams, who is making a claim for the NBA’s best point guard: Williams has put up 26.8 points and 12 assists in this series, hitting eight of his 16 three-point attempts.  If the Nuggets’ defense doesn’t step up, this season is over, and we’re betting on the Jazz to be able to get that one important stop.  Go with Utah

online sportsbetting pick:. Utah

NBA championship odds has Dallas as the team most likely to challenge the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference, and if they get performances from Dirk Nowitzki like they did in their first-round series against San Antonio, they stand an excellent chance of beating the Leakers. Game 2 goes Wednesday night in Dallas.

Spurs vs Mavericks odds – Wednesday, April 21, 9:30 PM ET

Nowitzki was lights out in the Mavericks’ 100-94 win in Game 1, going 12-of-14 from the field and nailing all 12 of his free-throw attempts for a game-high 36 points to power Dallas. The Mavericks also outrebounded the Spurs 45-37, including 13-8 on the offensive glass, and they were 25-of-34 from the foul line as opposed to 12-of-14 for the Spurs. Caron Butler added 22 points, while Jason Kidd had yet another near triple-double with 13 points, 11 assists and eight boards, with four steals for good measure, and the Dallas offense was working like a well-oiled machine. Of course, it’s easy for a team to look good when a player of Nowitzki’s caliber is feeling it, and he certainly was in Game 1.

It wasn’t all bad for the Spurs, as they shot 50% from the field, but they didn’t get to the line enough, and 17 turnovers is far too many to survive in the playoffs. Tim Duncan had 27 points and eight rebounds, while Manu Ginobili chipped in with 26 points. Tony Parker started on the bench, but had 18 points in 34 minutes for the Spurs, and you can pretty much bet that he’ll be in the starting five for Game 2 as coach Gregg Popovich was trying to save him. Parker missed a month late in the season because of an ailing hand, but now Popovich’s hand (no pun intended) has been forced.

The Mavericks should be the favorites in this contest if you’re betting on sports, and the Spurs have now lost six in a row in Dallas, and eight of their last 10 trips to “Big D” overall. The Spurs’ “Big Three” of Parker, Duncan and Ginobili played well, but outside of 10 points from Antonio McDyess, no other player scored more than five points, and Richard Jefferson is arguably the biggest free-agent disappointment of the season. The Mavericks have a lot of weapons and didn’t even get a good game from Jason Terry. The center duo of Erick Dampier and Brendan Haywood combined for 15 points and 18 rebounds, and which allows Nowitzki to have more offensive freedom, which can mean nothing but good things for the Mavericks. The Spurs are going to need all of their championship experience to steal one here, but we think they just don’t have enough talent.

Bet NBA: Dallas

The sports book makers were not disappointed by the Western Conference quarter-final game one between the Los Angeles Kings and the Vancouver Canucks. Sports betting experts picked the Canucks to win, and the Canucks did wind up winning the game. But what the hockey betting world forgot about was the young, fast and smart Los Angeles defense lead by U.S. Olympian Jack Johnson.

The Los Angeles Kings almost pulled off the upset in game one against the Canucks, and it seemed as though the only line on the ice for the Canucks was the Sedin twins Henrik and Daniel, and honorary Sedin twin Alexandre Burrows and that may have been by design.

It is no secret to the Stanley Cup betting world that the Canucks rely heavily on the Sedin twins for their offense. But with players such as Mikael Samuelsson, Ryan Kessler and Mason Raymond each having more than 50 points during the regular season the Canucks are capable of beating a team in so many different ways. In game one the Kings let the Sedins run rampant and hoped that Los Angeles goalie Jonathan Quick could keep the Sedins off the scoreboard. It didn’t work as the Sedins combined for four points in the game and Samuelsson got two points of his own.

With all of their grit and determination the Kings lack the guns up front to compete with a team like the Canucks. On defense it seemed like the Kings would sit back on the Sedins and then attack everyone else. While that seems like a recipe for disaster, it did offer the Kings the chance to skate around the rest of the Canuck team at times.

If it were not for Jonathan Quick in net for the Kings then game one would not have gone into overtime. Quick faced 44 shots and made 41 saves. That is a huge effort against one of the top offensive teams in the league. The tell-tale stat for that game is the number of shots that the Kings managed against Luongo in the Vancouver net which was only 27.

The problem that the Kings face is if they become too aggressive and decide to attack the Sedin line then the Sedins and Burrows will rack up points all night long. The idea of sitting back on the Sedins means that the Kings can keep that line somewhat contained, and then try to weather the storm until there is a line change. It is the only strategy the Kings have against the Canucks, and it did not result in a win for game one.

The unknown in all of this is how Luongo will react if the Kings do manage to get 35 or more shots on him in game two. Even though he is the newest Canadian Olympic hero, Luongo cannot shake his reputation for choking in big games in the NHL. The only chance the Kings have is to try to increase the shot count against Luongo and see if he cracks. In the meantime, the Kings will also have to figure out a way to keep the Sedins from scoring. It is doubtful that the Kings have the personnel to pull off that two-headed game plan.

Pick: Vancouver 4-2

Stanley Cup betting is about to get underway as Atlantic Division rivals Philadelphia and New Jersey will square off, and the Devils would like to send a message in the first game after the Flyers dominated the season series.

Flyers vs Devils odds – Wednesday, April 14, 7:30 PM ET

The Flyers needed to go all the way to a shootout to get to the postseason, edging the New York Rangers 2-1 on Sunday after a tough home-and-home series between two teams clawing for the playoffs. Matt Carle scored in the third period to tie the game up, while Brian Boucher stopped Olli Jokinen to put the Flyers in the second season. The Flyers should have won this game more handily, as they outshot the Rangers 47-25, but New York goalie Henrik Lundqvist stood on his head to keep the Rangers in it, and the Flyers should be proud of beating one of the best goalies in the game.

Jamie Langenbrunner scored the winner with three second left in a 2-1 win at home over Buffalo on Saturday, while Travis Zajac tied the game in the second period. Martin Brodeur stopped 22 shots for the Devils, who enter the playoffs with four wins in their last five games, and Brodeur has allowed four goals in those five games. The surefire first-ballot Hall-of-Famer was a little shaky after the Olympic break, and sports book players were wondering if getting pulled for Roberto Luongo on the Canadian team affected him mentally. But Brodeur is one of the top five goalies in NHL history, and he proved that he’ll be alright.

Online sports betting odds should favor the Devils in the first game of this series, and the Flyers have lost three of their last five in New Jersey. There may be some worry for New Jersey fans as the Devils have lost five of six against the Flyers this season, including one of two at home, and they’re going to need Boucher at his best. Brodeur has been miserable against the Flyers this year with a 1-4 mark in six games with a 3.34 GAA and a .878 save percentage, but we’re willing to bet anything that he turns it around for the playoffs, especially given the roll that he’s on right now. Many are wondering if the Flyers spent all of their bullets just trying to get into the postseason, and going on the road in their first game, Philadelphia may not have the energy that New Jersey has.

NHL betting pick: New Jersey

When the online betting for The Masters starts to wind down on Sunday April 11, so will the regular season in the NHL. The sportsbooks will be closed on another season, and the online sports betting for the playoffs will begin. But before we can do an NHL game preview on the playoffs, there is one more pre-playoff heavyweight battle taking place in the regular season.

Second place in the Eastern Conference has been an ongoing battle between the Pittsburgh Penguin, New Jersey Devils and the Buffalo Sabres. While the Sabres have owned the second spot in the conference for the least amount of time, they are still in the mix.

The sports betting in the NHL this season has focused mainly on the Washington Capitals, but second place in the Eastern Conference gives home ice advantage up to the conference finals, and that is something definitely worth fighting for.

The Sabres have already announced that they will more than likely rest superstar goaltender Ryan Miller in their last two games of the regular season. Forward Jochen Hecht is out with an upper body injury and backup goaltender Patrick Lalime will start even though he just got done with a bout of the flu. Winger Thomas Vanek is expected to play the last two games of the season which should give the Sabres some needed scoring punch.

The Devils may continue to play goaltender Martin Brodeur as he has been very hot lately with two shutouts in his last three games, and the Devils need to keep Brodeur’s momentum going. The Devils are extremely happy with their pick up of scoring machine Ilya Kovalchuk, and they may rest him some in these last couple of games to prepare for the playoffs. The Devils other scoring machine Zach Parise may also see limited ice time as the Devils prepare for the playoffs.

There is a lot at stake in these last two games for both teams. Not only are the Devils fighting for second place in the conference, but they are also in a battle with the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins for first place in the Atlantic division. The Devils and the Penguins have identical regular season records and this battle promises to come down to the last game.

The Sabres are a better home team than away team and they would benefit from second place in the conference. The only team they would not have the upper hand with as far as home ice goes is the Capitals. But the Sabres are guaranteed to be no lower than third in the conference as they have clinched the Northeast division. The Devils could fall to fourth if they do not continue to win. These last two games mean a lot to the Devils.

The Sabres are still without Patrick Kaleta, Jochen Hecht and Tim Connolly. Even with those players out of the lineup the Sabres are finding ways to win. But with a queasy Patrick Lalime in net, and the Sabres looking towards the first round of the playoffs, the focus will not be on the New Jersey Devils.

Pick: New Jersey Devils 6-2