Last Updated on April 14, 2011 3:58 pm by Anthony Rome
(The Spread) – The 2010-11 NBA season wrapped up on Wednesday night and the first round playoff matchups are set. Who’s favored in what series and who plays when?
NBA Playoff Seedings: In the Western Conference, the top-ranked Spurs will take on the No. 8 Grizzlies, while the No. 4 Thunder play the No. 5 Nuggets and the No. 2 Lakers battle the No. 7 Hornets. The Mavericks also clinched the No. 3 seed on Wednesday night and will play the No. 6 Blazers.
In the East, the No. 1 Bulls will play the No. 8 Pacers, the No. 4 Magic will take on the No. 5 Hawks and the No. 2 Heat will battle the No. 7 Sixers. The Celtics-Knicks game on Wednesday was a first round preview of sorts, as No. 3 Boston will take on No. 6 New York starting this weekend.
NBA Playoff Odds: The Bulls are –4000 on the money line to take care of the Pacers (+2000) in the first round, while the Sixers are +1200 on the ML to beat the Heat (-2000). The Magic (-400) are slightly favored to beat the Hawks (+300) in Round 1, while the Knicks are +300 on the ML to advance to the second round over the Celtics (-400).
Oddsmakers from online sports book SBGGLOBAL.com have made the Lakers a +200 money line favorite to win the 2011 NBA Finals, while the Bulls are +250 and the Heat are +350. The Spurs are +450, while the Celtics are +700 and the Thunder are +1200.
Your long-shots according to oddsmakers are the Pacers at +10000, Grizzlies +20000, Hornets +20000 and 76ers +30000.
NBA Playoff Schedule: Action gets started at 1:00PM ET on Saturday when the Bulls (-11.5) host the Pacers and the Heat (-11) host the 76ers. Also, the visiting Hawks (+8.5) will play the Magic at 7:00PM ET and the Mavericks will host the Blazers at 9:30PM ET.
On Sunday, the Spurs will host the Grizzlies at 1:00PM ET and the Lakers will host the Hornets at 3:30PM ET. The Celtics play the Knicks at 7:00PM ET on Sunday night, while the Thunder host the Nuggets at 9:30PM ET.
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