No NBA team has been worse in the postseason than Denver.

In fact, the Nuggets are just 2-16 SU & 3-15 ATS in their L18 playoff games.

The franchise believes those struggles are behind them, and for good reason. With the mid-season trade for Chauncey Billups, Denver acquired one of the league’s most clutch playoff performers, a player with a long history of postseason success.

His leadership and a more diverse lineup have the Nuggets thinking big this time around. Oddsmakers have installed Denver as only a -220 series favorite vs. the Hornets, despite the spread in seed #2 vs. #7.

As the #2 seed in the Western Conference Playoffs, the Nuggets are in an enviable position of having home court advantage for the first two rounds should they advance, as well as avoiding the heavily favored Lakers until the conference finals. Denver’s 54-wins in the regular season tied the franchise high since the old ABA days of ‘75-76. That of course, is another reason for optimism.

The opponent for Denver is the 7^th seeded New Orleans Hornets, fourth place finishers in the tough Southwest Division despite winning 49 games. The Hornets are hoping to emulate their playoff success of a year ago, when they advanced past Dallas in five games before falling to San Antonio in a grueling 7-game set.

New Orleans is one of the teams in the West that struggled down the stretch however, going just 8-10, including 2-5 against other conference playoff teams.

Much of the way this series goes hinges on the tempo of the games. Denver loves taking it up and down the court and enjoys a 104.3 PPG to 95.7 PPG edge in scoring over the Hornets.

Don’t make the mistake of underestimating the Nuggets’ defense however, as they actually hold opponents to a lesser field goal percentage (44.0%-45.3%) of the two teams.

If the Hornets have any edge, it’s in the postseason success they enjoyed last year and the play of PG Chris Paul, who has shown the ability to take over games on numerous occasions in his young career.

Prediction: Denver in five games

Now here’s a look at the top StatFox team playoff trends for both clubs:

#2 DENVER NUGGETS

DENVER has won just two of its L18 playoff games SU, going 3-15 ATS.

UNDER the total is on an incredible run of 17-2 in the L19 DENVER playoff games.

DENVER is just 1-7 SU ATS at home in the four playoff seasons under George Karl.  

#7 NEW ORLEANS HORNETS

The HORNETS’ franchise is on a 9-1 SU & 8-2 ATS run at home in the postseason.

The HORNETS’ franchise has struggled as playoff underdogs, going 10-26 SU & 14-22 ATS in L36.

The HORNETS were 7-4-1 UNDER the total in the ‘08 NBA playoffs.

SportsBook.com is the home for NFL bettors craving some wagering action in April.

Will Matthew Stafford be the first overall pick when the Detroit Lions are at the podium next Saturday? How many quarterbacks will be taken in the first round?

Bet on any and everything Draft related right now at Sportsbook.com, the home of the most NFL Draft odds anywhere and a Mini-Mock Draft contest that could land one lucky member as much as $2,500.00 for their predictions.

With more than 50 betting props already live, more being released every day leading up to the draft and In-Running betting throughout the first round, Sportsbook.com is the only place for NFL bettors to be on Draft Day.

“Our members loved our Draft props and promotion last year and we’ve built on the success from that to make Draft Weekend even better for them this year,” said Sportsbook.com spokesman Dave Staley. “Everyone loves betting on the NFL and we continue to give our members more ways to bet on football than anyone else.”

SportsBook.com‘s in-depth list of odds includes player matchups, the number of players selected in the first round by position and the exact draft position for some of the biggest names in the draft.

In the Mini-Mock Draft, members make their predictions for the Top 10 picks with the person who makes the most correct picks taking home $250.00 for every correct selection.

“We did this for last year’s NBA Draft and it was a great success with the winner correctly predicting nine of the 10 picks,” said Staley. “There’s definitely a good chance that someone takes home the full $2,500.00 next Saturday.”

Popular Draft Odds

Number of Quarterbacks taken in Round One:

Over 2.5 (-350)

Under 2.5 (+225)

Number of Running backs taken in Round One

Over 2.5 (+140)

Under 2.5 (-180)

Which Player Will Get Drafted 1^st

Knowshon Moreno (+150)

Chris Wells (-200)

Which Player Will Get Drafted 1^st

Michael Crabtree (-200)

Jeremy Maclin (+150)

Which Player Will Get Drafted 1^st

Brian Cushing (-160)

Rey Maualuga (+120)

Total SEC Players Drafted in the 1^st Round

Over 7.5 (+160)

Under 7.5 (-200)

Total Big 12 Players Drafted in the 1^st Round

Over 5.5 (-125)

Under 5.5 (-105)

Brian Robiskie (Ohio State) – Will he be selected in the 1^st Round

Yes (+175)

No (-250)

John Parker Wilson (Alabama) – Will he be Drafted on Day 1 of the Draft (Rounds 1 and 2)

Yes (+200)

No (-300)

Mark Sanchez (USC) – Draft Position

7 or Lower (+350)

8 Pick (+500)

9 Pick (+2000)

10 Pick (+200)

11 Pick (+2000)

12 Pick (+350)

13 Pick (+300)

14 or Higher (+200)

Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Celtics begin their quest for a second straight title, the NHL playoffs continue, and the Sprint Cup Series hits Phoenix.

Tipping off on the hardwood  . . .

The NBA playoffs begin on four fronts on Saturday, including in Boston where the defending-champion Celtics will try to take out the Bulls without the services of star forward Kevin Garnett. Oddsmakers still like Boston’s chances in the first round, as they’re pegged as a -500 favorite to win the best-of-seven series at Sports Betting Sportsbook.  The Celtics are also listed as 8.5-point favorites in the opener on Saturday afternoon according to live NBA odds.

LeBron James and the Cavaliers are huge -4000 favorites to bounce the Pistons in the first round, and they’re pegged as 12-point favorites to win Game 1 at home on Saturday. As well, the Spurs are 4-point home favorites against the Mavericks, and the Trail Blazers are favored by 4 points at home against the Rockets. San Antonio is a -140 series favorite, and Portland is a -135 series fave.

To win it all, BetUs has the Lakers at +135 and the Cavaliers at +200. Boston, perhaps without Kevin Garnett for the entire playoffs is at +600.

NBA playoff picks against the basketball odds…

GodsTips leads the way as they so often do. It’s time to hop on board NOW. Somehow we even won an extra-inning game. But the big play was our NL Game of the Month on San Diego a Dandy Dog, part of 3-1 in MLB as Oakland wins +135.

Led by America‘s only Grandmaster sports handicapper Joe Duffy, GodsTips is ready to embark on another NBA season following a sensational regular season starting in October. GodsTips has two NBA sides and an NBA total up now. We have added two NHL winners Click now to purchase. Every top handicapper has packages through the NBA finals up at huge discounts.

Meeting up on the diamond . . .

The Yankees’ Chien-Ming Wang carries a horrendous 28.93 ERA into his start on Saturday afternoon at home against the Indians. Wang has given up 15 earned runs on 15 hits over just 4 2-3 innings of work this season, lasting just one inning against the Rays and 3 2-3 innings against the O’s. The Tribe will send righthander Fausto Carmona (0-2, 9.00 ERA) to the mound in that contest.

Also on the American League schedule for Saturday: Oakland at Toronto, the White Sox at Tampa Bay, the Angels at Minnesota, Baltimore at Boston, Kansas City at Texas, and Detroit at Seattle. Mariners lefthander Erik Bedard will try to improve on his 1-0 record and 2.02 ERA when he takes to the hill vs. the Tigers.

Over in the National League on Saturday it’s Atlanta at Pittsburgh, Florida at Washington, Milwaukee at the Mets, St. Louis at Chicago, Colorado at the Dodgers, San Diego at Philadelphia, Cincinnati at Houston, and Arizona at San Francisco. The Giants will go with righthander Tim Lincecum (0-1, 7.56 ERA) in that game, and the D-Backs counter with lefthander Doug Davis (0-2, 4.15 ERA).

Taking a trip around the rink . . .

The Red Wings will continue their title defense on Saturday night with Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the Blue Jackets. Detroit bounced Columbus 4-1 in the series opener on Thursday, with Johan Franzen and Jiri Hudler both picking up a goal and an assist. R.J. Umberger had the only goal in the loss for the Blue Jackets, while rookie netminder Steve Mason had 30 saves.

There are three other Game 2’s on the NHL’s postseason slate for Saturday, with the Rangers at Washington, Montreal at Boston, and Calgary at Chicago. Each of New York, Boston, and Chicago hold a 1-0 lead in their respective series, with the Blackhawks winning their Game 1 by a score of 3-2 in overtime on Thursday. Martin Havlat scored twice for Chicago in that win, and he provided the OT tally.

Rounding out the Roundup . . .

The Sprint Cup Series returns on Saturday night with the Subway Fresh Fit 500 under the lights at Phoenix International Raceway. Jeff Gordon won the circuit’s last event at Texas Motor Speedway on April 5, and he holds a 162-point lead on Jimmie Johnson in the current driver standings. However, Johnson has won the last three Phoenix races, and he’s the 3/1 Vegas favorite to get the win Saturday.

Kyle Busch is next on that list at 5/1, followed by Gordon at 6/1, Carl Edwards at 7/1, and both Denny Hamlin and Greg Biffle at 10/1. Mark Martin and Matt Kenseth then sit at 12/1 odds to win in Phoenix on Saturday, with Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr. at 15/1, and Kurt Busch rounding out the top tier at 18/1.