Get in the Game - with Nigel Ridgway of bet365 *US Edition*
Nigel Ridgway
NBA Championship
Live betting - Su Jun 6 - 9:00 pm EST (ABC)/Jun 7 - 01:00 GMT
Live betting - Tu Jun 8 - 9:00 pm EST (ABC)/Jun 9 - 01:00 GMT
Live betting - Th Jun 10 - 9:00 pm EST (ABC)/Jun 11 - 01:00 GMT
LA Lakers - Seed: 2 West/Record: 56 - 26/Playoffs: 12 - 5.
Detroit Pistons - Seed: 3 East/record: 54-28/Playoffs: 12 - 6.
The Lakers have been so close to elimination and have been so unimpressive on their way to the Finals, it's hard to pick them. Yet, they are 2/11 to win the series here at bet365 - why? Well for a start, they will have home court advantage. They can also boast, in the shape of Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, two of the most effective players in the NBA. All-NBA centre O'Neal is still the most dominant player in the game if healthy and motivated, and he played that way for the second half of the Conference semi-finals and nearly all of the finals. The Lakers backcourt begins and ends with Bryant, who has been the most effective player in the NBA for the second half of the season with his ability to shoot from anywhere on the court, handle the ball, rebound and get the ball to his team-mates in a position to score. Even more significant than the confidence of their stars, however, is the performance of the role players, the most important of which could be Derek Fisher. One of the most underrated players in the league, Fisher has been a vital part of the Lakers' latest run to a title. In fact, his buzzer-beating turnaround jump shot against San Antonio will be the defining moment that Lakers fans will cherish for years to come, should they get to celebrate another championship - their fourth in five years!
Expect the Lakers to crank up their game another notch for the Finals, as they look to avenge a 4-0 loss to the Pistons in the 1989 Finals. Prediction: Lakers in 6 @ 11/5 - more series correct score betting on bet365 website.
DET Pistons @ LA Lakers Game 1 Lines:
Point Spread - Pistons (+8.0) @ 10/11, Lakers (-8.0) @ 10/11.
Game Totals - Under/Over 171.0 @ 10/11.
Money Line - Pistons @ 4/1, Lakers @ 4/21.
Join us for live betting on all the Finals games, where our betting will include: Point Spread; Game Total; and Who Will Win the Quarter.
MLB
The Boston Red Sox dropped two games behind the AL East leading New York Yankees - their biggest deficit this year - after going down 10-7 to Anaheim on Wednesday night. Remarkably, nine of the RBI were hit by Vladimir Guerrero, who set a new team record, the most in the major leagues since Boston's Bill Mueller had nine at Texas last July 29th. Guerrero homered twice, going 4-for-4, as Anaheim overcame a three-run deficit against Pedro Martinez, who allowed seven runs and 11 hits in five-plus innings. Anaheim starter Jarrod Wasburn allowed seven runs and nine hits in 3 1/3 innings. The first AL pitcher to win seven games this year, he is 0-2 in his last three starts. The Angels are now hot favourites @ 2/5 to take AL West, and 5/2 for the AL outright.
bet365 World Series prices … Yankees 27/10, Red Sox 7/2, Angels 11/2, Cubs 13/2, others on bet365 website.
Join us for live betting on all this weekend's games, where our markets will include: Game Total; Money Line; Run Line; A Score in the Innings; and Most Hits In The Innings:
bet365 NBA/Baseball Bonus
With bet365's NBA/Baseball parlay bonus you can now score up to 50% more on all your NBA and Baseball parlays! The bonus applies to winnings on NBA/Baseball 3-14 team parlays, ranging from 7.5% on a winning 3-team parlay, right up to 50% for winning 12, 13, and 14-team parlays on the following markets:
Basketball: Game Pointspread; Game Total; First Half Spread; Second Half Spread; First Half Total; Second Half Total; Money Line.
Baseball: Run Line; Game Total; Money Line.
Please see bet365 website for full details.
NHL Stanley Cup Final - CAL Flames v TB Lightning (series score 2-2)
Live betting - Th Jun 3 - 8:00 pm EST (ABC)/Jun 4 - 00:00 GMT
Live betting - Sa Jun 5 - 8:00 pm EST (ABC)/Jun 6 - 00:00 GMT
Live betting - Mo Jun 7 - 8:00 pm EST (ABC)/Jun 8 - 00:00 GMT
Lightning got an early break in Game 4, and made the most of it to level the series. Tampa found themselves with a two-man advantage for a full two minutes, helping them score a power-play goal which they held on to, for the rest of the game. Although helped by some erratic shooting by Calgary, Lightning produced a very strong defensive effort, with goalie Nikolai Khabibulin very steady in goal. This was critical because at the other end of the ice, Calgary's Miikka Kiprusoff was giving the Lightning nothing, besides the first-period goal on which he had no chance. Tampa has yet to lose consecutive games in the playoffs, and go into tonight's game as bet365's 20/37 favourites to win the series. They can be backed at 4/6 to win Game 5 and the series.
Join us for live betting tonight, and for Games 6 and 7 (if necessary), where our markets will include: Puck Line; Game Total; Next Goal Scored; Most Shots on Goal; Who Will Win the Period; and Next Period Total.
Belmont Stakes
Sa Jun 5 - 5:30 pm EST (NBC)/21:30 GMT
Smarty Jones arrived at Belmont Park yesterday for Saturday's date with destiny, where he can become the 12th Triple Crown champion and pocket a second $5 million bonus in five weeks. The withdrawal of The Cliff's Edge and Tapit, the only two runners who could have been fancied to Smarty Jones a race on form, seems to have handed the Belmont to the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner on a plate. Surely only a complete failure of stamina can now prevent him form becoming a rarity - an unbeaten winner of the US Triple Crown. He is a 1/3 shot for Saturday's race with bet365.
PGA Tour Golf, The Memorial
Th Jun 3 - 4:00 pm EST (ESPN)/20:00 GMT
Fr Jun 4 - 4:00 pm EST (ESPN)/20:00 GMT
Sa Jun 5 - 3:00 pm EST (CBS)/19:00 GMT
Su Jun 6 - 2:00 pm EST (CBS)/18:00 GMT
This week's event, known as 'Jack's Tournament' after course designer Jack Nicklaus, is stacked full of talent with the likes of Woods, Singh and Els all teeing it up. Of the three Tiger, has to be the choice this week on a course where he is an incredible 61 under for his seven appearances - he won three in a row from 1999-2001 and was tied for fourth last year. His failure to hit fairways on a consistent basis this season - 161st in Driving Accuracy - has no doubt contributed to this year's 'slump' in form. However, a third and fourth place finish in his last two starts is testament to his refusal to give-up at any time, and he is likely to find the wide fairways of Muirfield more forgiving than most. Last year's winner Kenny Perry has not yet reached the heights of last season - he was scoring here for the third time in four weeks - although a respectable 12th on his last start indicates that he could contend this week. He is passed over in favour of 1992 US Amateur champ Justin Leonard, who returns to the scene of that victory, and will be looking to improve on his tie for seventh in 1999 and runner-up position the following year. The best outsider this week could be last year's runner-up Lee Janzen. This is the time of year when he tends to play his best golf - five of his eight PGA Tour victories have come in June, July and August.
Nigel's three off the tee … Woods @ 4/1, Leonard @ 40/1, Janzen @ 80/1.
NASCAR Nextel Cup Series - MBNA America 400, Dover DEL
Su Jun 6 - 2:00 pm EST (FOX)/17:00 GMT
Ryan Newman took both races at Dover International's 1-mile oval last year, and is our 5/1 favourite to take the checkered flag in Delaware this time around. Expect him to be challenged all the way by last week's Coca-Cola 600 winner Jimmie Johnson. Johnson led for an incredible 334 laps - which would have been the entire distance in a 500 mile race - and came up one short of the record set in 1967 by winner Jim Paschal. He is already a dual winner at Dover back in 2002. Take a note of final grid positions, however, half of the 68 races held at Dover International Speedway have been won by drivers starting either first, second or third.
Nigel's checkered flag … Jimmie Johnson @ 6/1.
bet365 race prices … Ryan Newman 5/1, Jimmie Johnson 6/1, Tony Stewart 13/2, Jeff Gordon 8/1, others on bet365 website.
Get in the game and be lucky!
Nigel.
Please be aware that prices are subject to change. All times are subject to change. Check local listings for TV coverage on these events
NIGEL RIDGWAY, an experienced punter and betting shop owner of many years, believes that "The key to successful gambling is getting value for money." Nigel was once forced by local bookmakers, to stop writing a tipping column in a UK newspaper, because he was costing them a fortune. Find out what offers and lines are hot at bet365.com
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