Get in the Game - with Nigel Ridgway of bet365 *US Edition*
Nigel Ridgway
NBA - Conference Finals
Live betting - (Sunday) LA Lakers v MIN TWolves (WEST)
Fr May 21 - 9:00 pm EST (TNT)/May 22 - 01:00 GMT
Su May 23 - 8:30 pm EST (TNT)/May 24 - 00:30 GMT
Tu May 25 - 9:00 pm EST (TNT)/May 26 - 01:00 GMT
Th May 27 - 9:00 pm EST (TNT)/May 28 - 01:00 GMT
The Los Angeles Lakers advanced to the Western Conference Finals with an
88-76 win in Game 6 of their series against the San Antonio Spurs on
Saturday night, with Kobe Bryant again turning in a star performance,
contributing 26 points on the night. On Wednesday night, it was the turn of
Kevin Garnett to shine as the Minnesota Timberwolves held on to beat the
Sacramento Kings 83-80 in Game 7 of their series. Garnett, on his 28th
birthday, had 32 points, 21 rebounds and five blocks in what could be
described as one of the greatest performances of his career. Minnesota will
play host to the Lakers in Game 1 of the Conference Finals at the Target
Center on Friday night.
To reach the NBA Finals, the Lakers will have to win at least one game on
the road against a Minnesota team that had never advanced past the first
round of the playoffs before this season. The Lakers eliminated
Minnesota 4-2 in the first round last year, including a 120-90 demolition
that turned the series in Game 5, but the Timberwolves are a
changed team this season, taking the regular season series against the
Lakers 3-1. The Timberwolves were also the NBA's best road team, and
have taken a game away from home in each of their first two playoff series.
Lakers fans will be able to point to one stat first and foremost however:
57-0. That was the amount Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal outscored their
Timberwolves counterparts Trenton Hassell and Ervin Johnson in a 90-73
victory on March 26 - the only time in the four meetings they had all of
their superstars completely healthy!
The series could turn on how well Karl Malone matches up against Garnett.
The defensive job that Malone did on Tim Duncan helped turn around the
Lakers' second-round series against San Antonio, and he'll surely employ
some of his same tricks against the league's MVP. If
Garnett can be contained, the Wolves have almost no chance. Prediction:
Lakers in 7.
bet365 'To Win Series' prices … Lakers 1/3, TWolves 12/5.
Series Correct Score:
LA Lakers to win 4-0 11/2
LA Lakers to win 4-1 4/1
LA Lakers to win 4-2 9/4
LA Lakers to win 4-3 11/2
MIN TWolves to win 4-0 50/1
MIN TWolves to win 4-1 11/1
MIN TWolves to win 4-2 12/1
MIN TWolves to win 4-3 5/1
Live betting (on the weekend) - IND Pacers v DET Pistons or NJ Nets
Schedule not yet announced (TBA)
DET Pistons v NJ Nets (Game 7)
Thu May 20 - 9:00 pm EST (ESPN)/May 21 - 01:00 GMT
The Indiana Pacers ended the Heat's home-game winning streak of 18 games
and knocked them out of the playoffs with a 73-70 hard-fought win in Miami
on Tuesday. The Pacers were led by Ron Artest, who scored 27 points and six
rebounds. Miami's Dwyane Wade played extremely well and kept the Heat in
the game during the fourth quarter, finishing with 24 points. The Pacers
now await the winner of Detroit and New Jersey. The Pistons needed to win
on the road or face elimination on Sunday night in order to keep their
playoff hopes alive, and delivered with an 81-75 win to take the series to
a seventh game in Detroit on Thursday night.
Join us for live betting on all this weekend's games, where our betting
will include: Point Spread; Game Total; and Who Will Win the Quarter.
bet365 NBA Championship prices … Lakers 10/17, TWolves 4/1, Pacers 5/1,
others on bet365 website.
MLB
Join us for live betting on the following games this weekend, where our
markets will include: Game Total; Money Line; Run Line; and Most Hits In
The Innings:
SL Cardinals v CHI Cubs
Fr May 21 - 3:20 pm EST/ 19:20 GMT
LA Dodgers v ATL Braves
Sa May 22 - 1:20 pm EST (FOX)/17:20 GMT
NY Yankees v TEX Rangers
Sa May 22 - 4:05 pm EST (Fox)/20:05 GMT
KC Royals v Oakland Athletics
Su May 23 - 4:05 pm EST/20:05 GMT
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
Live betting (Saturday) TAM Lightning v PHI Flyers
Th May 20 - 7:30 pm EST (ESPN2)/23:30 GMT
Sa May 22 - 7:00 pm EST (ESPN2)/23:00 GMT
Captain Jarome Iginla scored his 10th playoff goal and the Flames advanced
to their first Stanley Cup Finals in 15 years with a 3-1 victory over the
Sharks in Game 6 Wednesday night, the first by a home team in the series!
Goalie Miikka Kiprusoff pulled off an amazing 18 saves for the Flames, who
took an early lead and held on well through the third period. Calgary has
missed the playoffs in each of the previous seven seasons before putting
together one of the most improbable playoff runs in recent history - and
it's not over yet!
Calgary hasn't been in the NHL's final round since winning the Stanley Cup
in 1989 - and the Canadian anthem will be sung in the finals for the first
time since Vancouver made it in 1994. A Canadian team hasn't won the Cup
since Montreal's victory in 1993. The sixth seeded Flames will now open
their fourth playoff series on the road Tuesday, either at Tampa Bay or
Philadelphia.
Tampa is only one game away from the Final, after scoring three power plays
in Tuesday's 4-2 victory over Philadelphia. Riding the emotion of a
revved-up home crowd, Tampa Bay ran roughshod over the Flyers for half the
game, and built up a 3-0 lead before gradually letting Philadelphia back
into it. The Flyers, who have scored only once in their past 34 power
plays, still have the odds in their favour going home for Game 6 on
Thursday night. No team has won two games in a row in this series, while
Philadelphia has shown an ability to start quickly and play very well in
its own building. Series Prediction: Tampa in Game 7 on Saturday night.
Join us for live betting on the remaining Eastern Conference games this
weekend, 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.
bet365 Stanley Cup prices … Tampa 10/11, Calgary 7/5, Philadelphia 11/2.
PGA Tour golf, The Colonial
Th May 20 - 4:00 pm EST (USA)/20:00 GMT
Fr May 21 - 4:00 pm EST (USA)/20:00 GMT
Sa May 22 - 3:00 pm EST (CBS)/19:00 GMT
Su May 23 - 3:00 pm EST (CBS)/19:00 GMT
Sergio Garcia has spent much of the last two seasons wrestling with his
game, but there have been signs recently that things were beginning to drop
into place, and last week's Byron Nelson win underlines the fact that he is
now back at the highest level where he belongs. There may still be
improvement to come, especially with the flat stick - only 66th in putting
among the 80 qualifiers last week - but when you are hitting over 80% of
the greens in regulation you can get away with nearly thirty putts per
round! Since 1970, a player has won consecutive events on Tour 41 times,
including Vijay Singh this season and Kenny Perry who took this event last
year before going back to back at Memorial, so it would not be a great
surprise to see Garcia follow-up this week. Shigeki Maruyama can also be
expected to shine this week. His five Colonial starts have resulted in four
top-20 finishes and no missed cuts, while his game is in good nick judging
on a 66-66 finish in the Byron. Also, watch out for native Texan Harrison
Frazar, who was tied for ninth here last year - his best performance since
being placed fourth on his Colonial debut back in 1998.
bet365 pre-tournament prices … Mickelson 6/1, Love 12/1, Garcia 16/1, Weir
22/1, Maruyama 33/1, Frazar 125/1. Each way ¼ odds, 1.2.3.4.5. Bet
In-Running subject to TV coverage.
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
Nigel.
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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