Sports wagering on game one of the 2009 NBA Finals begins tonight in Los Angeles at the Staples Center. Kobe Bryant and the Lakers are set to host Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic at 9:05 PM EST. Los Angeles returns to the NBA Finals for the second consecutive year and 30th time in franchise history while the Magic head to the Finals for the second time in their history. SBG Global reports that early the NBA wagering action sees the public taking the Lakers at home as a 6-point favorite with a 206 over/under.

The matchup between the Magic and Lakers should be a good one as Orlando has the dominating presence of Howard while the Lakers have Kobe. The Lakers will try and control Howard with three big men, Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom. He’s a unique kind of player," Pau Gasol said about Howard, "I don’t think there have been many players like him because of his physical gifts and attributes." Howard averaged 21.5 points, 16 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots in the two regular season games against the Lakers, both Orlando wins.

The Lakers main weakness is handling a point guard who is quick. Unless Jameer Nelson makes a surprise appearance, the Magic don’t have a guard that can give the Lakers trouble as Rafer Alston does not have the speed to cause Los Angeles trouble. On the other side, Orlando has no player that can stop Kobe. In the two regular season meetings, Kobe averaged 34.5 points per game.

Orlando lives and dies with three-point shooting and they could be in trouble against the Lakers who had the third-lowest opponents’ three-point field goal percentage in the regular season (34.5%), and the second-lowest in the postseason (31.3%).

Check out the NBA wagering odds stats for tonight’s game. The Magic are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games overall. The Magic are 19-7-1 ATS in their last 27 vs. the Pacific. The Magic are 17-7 ATS in their last 24 games as a road underdog. The Magic are 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings against the Lakers. The Lakers are 2-10 ATS in their last 12 vs. the Southeast. The Lakers are 1-10-1 ATS in their last 12 NBA Championship games. The Over is 4-0 in Orlando’s last 4 games as an underdog. The Over is 5-1 in Orlando’s last 6 overall. The Under is 5-0 in the Lakers last 5 games as a home favorite. The Under is 8-2 in the Lakers last 10 overall. The Under is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings in Los Angeles between the two teams.

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The sleeper team this NBA playoff wagering season is without a doubt the Orlando Magic. With only win away from returning to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1995, the Magic are poised to make their backers very happy.
 
Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals is set for tonight at 8:35 PM EST and can be viewed on live on TNT. The Orlando Magic will try and take out the Cleveland Cavaliers after another thrilling 116-114 overtime win on Tuesday. Dwight Howard scored 27 points, 10 in overtime, to lead the Magic past LeBron James and the Cavaliers. "We’re up 3-1, but we can’t relax," Orlando’s Rashard Lewis said, "Anything can happen. We got to go to Cleveland looking to try and close these guys out." The Magic have already proven they can win on the road in the playoffs as they eliminated the Celtics in Game 7 in the last round and they nearly took both of the first two games in Cleveland in this series. SBG Global Sportsbook reports that the early NBA betting action has the public taking Orlando on the road as a +7.5 underdog with a 190 total.

The Cavaliers are likely to be very inspired to extend the series on Thursday. Cleveland had the best home record in the NBA this season and it is unlikely that LeBron James will go quietly. He is averaging 42.3 points, 7.3 rebound and 7.3 assists in the series. "I’m up for the challenge," James said. "And I think my play, my leadership has spoke for that. So I will be ready, and I think our guys will be ready also."

The Magic are well aware that this series if far from over. "This thing is a long, long, long way from over, just like the games in this series have been," Orlando head coach Stan Van Gundy said, "When you’ve got a guy as great as him on the other side, you’re a long way from done."

History is on Orlando’s side though. A total of 190 teams have taken a 3-1 series lead and only eight of them have lost. The other main problem for Cleveland is that they simply don’t matchup well with Orlando. The Magic have won 10 of the past 14 games against Cleveland.

Take a look at NBA wagering stats for Thursday’s game. The Magic are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 playoff games as an underdog. The Magic are 7-0 ATS in the last 7 meetings in Cleveland. The Cavaliers are 14-4-1 ATS in their last 19 playoff games as a favorite. The Cavaliers are 36-16 ATS in their last 52 games as a home favorite. The Under is 23-11 in Orlando’s last 34 overall. The Over is 6-1 in the Cavaliers last 7 Conference Finals games. The Under is 14-6-1 in the Cavaliers last 21 games as a home favorite. The Over is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings between the two teams.