2011 NBA Playoffs Odds and Preview – Denver Nuggets Top Western Conference Longshot to Bet On

2011 NBA Playoffs Odds, Lines and Predictions – Denver Nuggets Top Western Conference Sleeper Team to Place Bet on to Win NBA Finals: Top to bottom, the NBA’s Western Conference is considered the more difficult path to the finals. Thanks to the depth of the conference, bettors have to like the chances of a surprise team sneaking up and winning it all out of the West. Seven teams are locked into the playoffs, and the Memphis Grizzlies are but assured a spot as well. Looking at the eight teams that will make the postseason, the Denver Nuggets (25/1 Odds to Win NBA Finals, 12/1 Odds to Win NBA Western Conference) stand out as an intriguing pick.

Trading away your two best players generally isn’t a recipe for success, but that is exactly what has happened in Denver. Since Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups were shipped to New York, the Nuggets have been playing their best ball. They are 16-5 since the trade and have won seven of their last 10 contests.

There are several reasons for the sudden success. Everyone on the court is now more involved in the offense, and the intensity has carried over to the defensive end of the court. Kenyon Martin has seen his minutes rise, and he has responded by averaging more than a steal and a block per game. Chris Andersen and Nene Hilario give Denver plenty of size in the middle. Ty Lawson has embraced his role as a distributor at the point guard spot in the place of Billups, and Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler and J.R. Smith can knock down 3-pointers with the best in the league.

The biggest knock on the Nuggets has been the team’s sub .500 record on the road, especially when you consider that Denver will not have home court advantage in any round of the playoffs. However, the new-look Nuggets are bettor away from home than their 17-22 record suggests. In their last three games this season, Denver has gone on the road and knocked off the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks. The Lakers are the odds on favorite to the title this season, and the Mavericks are going to land a top-four seed in the playoffs. You can’t tell me Denver isn’t a serviceable road team with wins like that.

At home, Denver is as tough as any team in the NBA. They currently boast a 31-8 mark, and nobody looks forward to running up and down the court in the thin air at the pace the Nuggets run. If they can continue to win a majority of their games at home and steal a few on the road, there is no reason the Nuggets can’t pull off some upsets.

Everyone on the team seems to be playing with a chip on their shoulder since being written off after the big trade. A motivated team is a dangerous team, and even though they are a longshot in the 2011 playoffs, they are a longshot that has a fighting chance. For bettors that insist on taking a flyer, the Denver Nuggets aren’t a bad team to back.

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