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The 2011 NBA Playoffs tip off this weekend with eight first round series, including the No. 1 overall seed Chicago Bulls facing the No. 8 Indiana Pacers at the United Center on Saturday (1 pm ET, ESPN).
NBA Odds at betED.com have the Bulls as an 11.5-point favorite with the over/under total at 188.5.
Chicago (62-20 SU, 50-31-1 ATS) got the better of Indiana (37-45 SU, 37-42-3 ATS) in the season series, winning three of the four meetings. But the Pacers won the most recent clash, beating the Bulls 115-108 on March 18. Indiana cashed as a 4.5-point home underdog.
Chicago is 7-3 straight up and against the point spread in the past 10 meetings.
A series that many basketball betting fans will be keeping a close watch on is the New Orleans Hornets taking on the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers, with Game 1 slated for Sunday at the Staples Center (3:30 pm ET, ABC).
The Lakers are a 10-point favorite and the total is 183.5 in NBA Betting at betED.com.
New Orleans finished at 46-36 SU and 39-40-3 ATS, seventh in the Western Conference, while the Lakers were second with a record of 57-25 SU and 38-44 ATS.
LA is 8-2 SU and 5-5 ATS in the past 10 head-to-head meetings. The Lakers swept the season series (4-0 SU) and went 3-1 ATS.
But the first round series that may get the most attention has the Boston Celtics, who lost to the Lakers in seven games in the NBA Finals last year, facing the New York Knicks.
Game 1 is slated for Sunday night at Boston’s TD Garden (7 pm ET, TNT).
NBA Playoffs Odds at betED.com have the Celtics as a 6.5-point favorite and the over/under at 198.
Boston is 8-2 SU but just 4-6 against the spread in the past 10 meetings. Like the Lakers with the Hornets, the Celtics swept the four-game season series, and each team was 2-2 ATS.
Check out Basketball Betting at betED.com for odds for every matchup.
