NBA Basketball Sports Betting

Game 5 - Western Conference Playoff Series (Dallas leads 3-1)

BetUS NBA Basketball Sports Betting Odds:  SAN ANTONIO -5, Total 189.5

Here are some of the NBA pro basketball sports betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

* DALL has covered seven of its last ten games

* DALL has won eight of its last ten games SU

* DALL has lost 12 of its last 17 road games SU

* DALL has played 12 of its last 18 road games UNDER the total

* SA has covered three of its last nine games

* SA has covered three of its last 12 home games

* SA has won 15 of its last 22 home games SU

* SA has played six of its last eight home games OVER the total

Also....

* DALL has covered ten of the last 15 meetings

* DALL has covered 10 of the last 13 meetings as the road team

* DALL has had the shooting edge in six of the last nine meetings

The result in Game 3 of this series was embarrassing for San Antonio, as they were beaten 88-67 on the heels of 32% shooting. The Spurs came out on Saturday and looked mad - for a while anyway, but drifted off in the second half and lost by nine. They had the look of a tired team, and Dallas, which shot only 38% from the floor, should not have had that easy a time.

The Spurs are just not spreading the ball around enough, and I guess that's hard to do when Tony Parker, your distributor, is scoring so much. Parker had 31 points in the first half of Game 4, and 43 for the game, but had just three assists. When Tim Duncan has to be the guy passing the ball around (seven assists) I don't know that the offense is operating at its optimum.

San Antonio is getting nothing out of the middle. Matt Bonner is not an inside player, but the least he could do is pose an outside threat. Instead, he is 4-for-19 shooting in the series, and is 0-for-7 from beyond the arc over the last two games. Drew Gooden was an absolute non-contributor. Parker and Duncan combined for 68 points, and no one else had more than seven.

We never really believed the Spurs could win an NBA title without the other member of their "big Three" (Manu Ginobili) healthy and on deck, and that is not going to happen. What you have here, though, is a "back-to-the-all" scenario with this veteran team, with several players who have won an NBA championship, and you can assure yourself that they will not go easily, especially at home. Last year New Orleans got up by two games and ultimately the Spurs came back and beat them. Also, remember that with Duncan healthy and ready to go this team has not been eliminated in first-round playoff action.

I'm looking for San Antonio to pull one big effort together, with pride taking over, and I'll lay the five points with the Spurs in NBA pro basketball playoff sports betting action.

JAY'S PLAY:  SAN ANTONIO -5 **

(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)