To say the Houston Rockets have their backs against the wall would be an understatement. Down 0-2 in the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs, things will only get worse for them Thursday night. The Rockets will try to salvage their season when they travel to Salt Lake City, Utah. SBGglobal.com has the Utah Jazz a - 9 pt favorite at home when they host the Houston Rockets in NBA Playoff Betting with the Over/Under set at 193 ½ total points.

These two teams know each other very well. They met in the playoffs last year, with the same exact scenario we have before us… but instead the other way around.

Around the same time a year ago, the Rockets had protected home court against the Jazz, by taking a commanding 2-0 lead going into Salt Lake City. Tracy McGrady and his team felt almost too confident going into game 3... and that’s when it all changed.

The Jazz rallied from a 0-2 deficit to take the series from the Rockets in seven games. Jerry Sloan's squad advanced all the way to the Western Conference Finals where they lost to the San Antonio Spurs (SAS later went on to win the Larry O'Brien trophy).               

The Utah Jazz has been considered an excellent home team all year, but only a mediocre team on the road. So far in the playoffs, they’ve changed all of that. For the duration of two games so far, this team has taken it to Tracy McGrady and the Rockets like no one expected them to. Expect tonight's game to be extremly competative, well played, and expect the Jazz's arena to be absolutely crazy.

Energy Solutions Arena is a place that didn’t see their Jazz loose too often during the regular season. At home the Jazz were an NBA best 37-4, including a run of 19-straight wins.

What a surprise in game one! Philly came out and shocked the team that I still believe will beat the Boston Celtics in a 7 game series. The Sixers are excellently coached and make the most out of the talent The Sixers are excellently coached and make the most out of the talent they have. Imagine if a team like the Knicks was coached by Mo Cheeks and made the most of their talent, they would be dangerous!

The Sixers were victorious in game one due to a balanced attack which saw 5 players score in double figures. Andre Miller one of the few guys on the roster with playoff experience led the way with 20 points and 6 assists while Willie Green scored 17 points on 7-11 shooting. The “Other” AI, Andre Igoudala had an off shooting night but worked hard to finish with 16 points 9 rebounds and 8 assists. Detroit is a -10 point NBA betting underdog vs the Sixers.

Detroit played about as poorly as possible in the first game as they shot only 39% as a team. Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince Antonio McDyess, and Chauncey Billups all had off shooting games. The good news for Detroit is that even with a horrid game, they only lost by four points while the Sixers played the best they possibly could. The Sixers need to win tonight as most people still consider Detroit in 5 games a safe pick.

PLAY: Phialdelphia 76ers +10

The Los Angeles Lakers will look to avoid a letdown in Game #2 on Wednesday as they host the Denver Nuggets.  The Lakers had little trouble in game one and are wary of the Nuggets coming out hard in game two. “The pressure’s still on us. We still have the pressure to win on our home court, play as hard as we did before.” Lakers’ head coach Phil Jackson said, “It’s very difficult for a team to come back with the same intensity.” SBG Global reports that early NBA betting has the public taking Lakers at Home.

NBA Betting Preview
Denver Nuggets at Los Angeles Lakers (Lakers lead 1-0)
Wednesday, 10:35 pm Eastern – TNT

SBG Global Opening Line: Lakers  -7.5, Total 229

The Lakers were led in game one by Pau Gasol who had 36 points and 16 rebounds.  Gasol does not expect things to be as easy in game #2. “When Marcus left me, most of the time they didn’t cut off that second man. That second man helper didn’t get there on those rotations to me. I guess they will try to allow us to shoot more from the outside and not get in the lane as easy as we did. You’d rather give up open long shots than layups and dunks.”  The total on game #2 is almost five points higher than in game number one since the teams combined to score 242 points on Sunday.

SBG Global Current Line: Lakers  -8, Total 229 

Here are the NBA betting stats for Wednesday’s game.  The Nuggets are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 Wednesday games. The Nuggets are 0-5 ATS in their last 5 playoff games as an underdog. The Nuggets are 0-5 ATS in their last 5 Conference Quarterfinals games. The Nuggets are 1-8 ATS in the last 9 meetings in Los Angeles. 

The Lakers are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games as a favorite. The Lakers are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games as a home favorite. The Lakers are 2-6-1 ATS in their last 9 playoff games as a favorite. The home team is 13-5 ATS in the last 18 meetings between the two teams. 

The Under is 5-1 in the Nuggets last 6 overall. The Under is 13-3 in the Nuggets last 16 playoff games as an underdog. The Under is 16-5 in the Nuggets last 21 Conference Quarterfinals games. 

The Over is 4-1 in the Lakers last 5 games as a home favorite. The Under is 6-2 in the Lakers last 8 Wednesday games. The Under is 7-3 in the last 10 meetings in Los Angeles between the two teams. 

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No one said it was going to be easy even though the Detroit Pistons must have thought so when they were paired with the Philadelphia 76’ers with home court advantage for the first round of the NBA Eastern Conference playoffs. Now down 0-1 in the best of seven series, the Pistons should have the Sixers in their crosshairs for Wednesday’s game-two of the series from the Palace at Auburn Hills. 

It seems the oddsmakers at online sportsbook SportsBetting.com have the Sixers in their crosshairs as well having installed the home Pistons as favorite by a 10-point chalk ATS with a -600 money line price. The total opened at 178. 

The Pistons failed to win game-one both SU and ATS by going down at home 86-90 on April 23. The Pistons entered that game as 10-point chalk favorites. The 176 points scored fell under the 179 point total. 

Early betting trends show 57 percent of gamblers taking the Pistons ATS while 53 percent like Detroit on the ML. The total is expected to exceed the 178 total according to 76 percent of wagers placed. 

The fans in Detroit are stirred up after their team dropping the first game. 

“The mood is upset and, probably more than anything else, anxious,” Pistons coach Flip Saunders said. “We probably wish, for one of the first times, we had back to backs in the playoffs. From my standpoint, I kind of like (two days off). It’s kind of like sometimes people hold horses out and not let them run as much so that when they do run, they’re ready to go. We’ll be a little more anxious come Wednesday.” 

“Everybody, after they lose, the competitive juices start flowing,” Pistons guard Chauncey Billups said, “and you want to play as soon as possible. But it’s given us a chance to step back and look at the tape.” 

Look for the Pistons to pull this one out at Auburn Hills tonight in a SU win. However, betting the Sixers -10 ATS looks like a good value.