The Miami Heat are a Much Better Offensive Team at Home

First, there will be too much hype surrounding the Shaquille O`Neal - Ben Wallace matchup. Secondly, Dwyane Wade will make three highlight reel plays and still turn the ball over too often. It is because of the final one that oddsmakers have made it a habit of setting Heat-Pistons totals on the low side.

Only twice in their last 10 meetings have bettors seen a total over 190 points and, true to form, sportsbooks set a 182-point ceiling on Saturday's Game 3 in Miami. What may be most surprising is that books set the total even this high. The rivals have broken the 180-mark only three times in their last 10 games (3-7 O/U) and have not gone over that number in their last four meetings, including the first two games of their current Eastern Conference final series.

The average bettor wants to bet 'over' so the line is always going to reflect that and be a bit higher than you might otherwise think, says BetUSA.coms Head of Sports Bill Nevin. In a playoff game you hope that both teams will improve a little as the series goes on and they know better how to play each other, which suggests the points might be a shade higher than the average.

May 31, 2006
Posted By Matt Manchester
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com    Previous Page | Internet Gambling | Top Online Casinos | Submit News!