Jeff Haney gets the scoop on why the Pistons get so much action

Friday, May 12, 2006 | 7:23 a.m.

Eight teams are still alive in the NBA playoffs, but gamblers have anointed one of them as virtually a sure thing to win the title.

The Detroit Pistons are favored by as high as minus-250 (risk $2.50 to win $1) to win the championship at betting shops that are still taking action on that proposition.

Detroit's status as such a heavy favorite reflects the unique nature of NBA betting, Las Vegas sports handicapper Erin Rynning said.

"In general, the NBA is a different animal," Rynning said. "In the NFL, you see wild-card teams make the Super Bowl. In baseball, a wild-card team can win the World Series.

"The NBA is different, with its seven-game series where the home-court advantage is so big. The favorites generally win out."

That's not to say there's any value in betting the Pistons now. "You really have to spot something much earlier in the season" and make your move at the betting windows then, Rynning said.

Nor does it mean it would be wise to blindly back the Pistons in each individual game.

In fact, the situation in Saturday's game at Cleveland sets up well for a play on the Cavaliers, Rynning said. The Cavs are trailing 2-0 in the series after losing twice at Detroit, but covering the point spread in the second game.

Cleveland is an underdog of 3 1/2 to four points around Las Vegas in Saturday's game, and Rynning sees value with the Cavs at better than plus-3.

"They're down 2-0, and they've had time to rest and make some adjustments," Rynning, online at sportsmemo.com, said. "In general, a team like that is in a good situation (to bet on). Their season has been six or seven months long now, and the entire season is on the line in this game."

If the Cavs happen to lose by a bunch Saturday, however, look out in Game 4. It could be blowout city, as Rynning warned that teams in that spot, down 3-0 and disheartened, typically don't show up at all.

Several Las Vegas sports books are offering betting specials such as reduced-vigorish bargains during the NBA playoffs.

All Coast Casinos properties have a reduced vig of minus-105, rather than the traditional minus-110, on NBA playoff games. This means bettors risk $1.05 for each $1 they're trying to win, instead of risking $1.10 for each $1. The reduced vigorish applies to bets on single games only, not parlays.

The Plaza downtown is also offering a minus-105 vig on sides only (not totals), but bettors there can take advantage of the special rate on parlays as well as straight bets.

Most major properties, including all Leroy's sports books, offer first-half and second-half point spread and over/under wagering on each game.

The Las Vegas Hilton and all Station Casinos properties are among those posting adjusted odds on the winner of each seven-game series, updated after each game. The Hilton, whose oddsmakers actively court action from sports bettors, has also posted a refreshing notice on its betting boards regarding those adjusted series prices: "Parlays Encouraged," it reads.

Given Oscar De La Hoya's sensational performance against Ricardo Mayorga last Saturday at the MGM Grand, I was hoping that I'd be able to bet on Floyd Mayweather Jr. at about even money, or even as a small underdog against De La Hoya if they were to meet in the ring.

No such luck.

It looks like I'll have to lay a price with Mayweather, as usual. The Plaza sports book this week posted Mayweather as a minus-220 favorite against De La Hoya, who is listed as a plus-190 underdog.

The fight - which has not been made - would have to take place by the end of the year for those odds to be in effect, according to the Plaza.

A replay of De La Hoya's sixth-round TKO of Mayorga in the super welterweight title fight will be shown at 6:45 p.m. Saturday on HBO (Cox cable channel 200).