NBA Finals betting in 2008 will have the Boston Celtics taking on the Los Angeles Lakers. This is the 11th time that these two teams have met in NBA Finals wagering , the last time in 1987. NBA Finals betting shows that the Celtics are the first team since the 2003 San Antonio Spurs to make the NBA Finals after finishing with the top record in the NBA. Gamblers that bet on the NBA Finals may remember that the last time an Eastern Conference team held home court advantage in the finals was in 1997 when the Chicago Bulls had the league’s best record.
NBA Finals betting history tells us that the 2008 Finals is the first instance since 2000 where the top seeds in both conferences have made it to the Finals. In 2000, the Lakers defeated the Pacers four games to two in NBA Finals wagering .
The most common NBA Finals betting matchup has been the Celtics versus the Lakers. The eleven meetings include the 1959 matchup when the Lakers were located in Minneapolis. The next most common matchup is the 76ers versus the Lakers. They have met six times in NBA Finals betting history. The Lakers have met the Knicks five times in NBA Finals betting history. The Celtics met the Hawks four times in NBA Finals betting history although that meeting could not occur today since both teams are now in the same conference. The Pistons have played the Lakers three times in NBA Finals history. The other three most common matchups have occurred only twice in NBA Finals betting history. They are Seattle versus Washington, Boston vs. Houston and Chicago versus Utah.
Gamblers that bet on the NBA Finals may want to know that since 1999 either the Spurs or the Lakers have played in the Finals and won seven of those times. In the early 2000’s the Lakers dominated NBA Finals betting led by Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. Gamblers that bet on the NBA Finals remember that San Antonio has dominated recent play. The Spurs have won four of the last nine NBA titles.