NBA legends return to betting boards for Lakers-Celtics series

By Jeff Haney (contact)

Thursday, June 5, 2008 | 2 a.m.

Almost 20 years after his retirement from the NBA, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar made an appearance on a betting board in a Las Vegas sports book this week.

He was joined by former teammates Magic Johnson, James Worthy and Kurt Rambis in a series of special betting propositions linked to the NBA Finals.

NBA bettors can also wager on or against old-school NBA standouts such as Larry Bird, Robert Parish and Kevin McHale on various props designed to capitalize on the interest in this year’s NBA championship, which begins today with the 2008 version of the Boston Celtics listed as a small favorite in Game 1 against the visiting Los Angeles Lakers.

To mark the latest meeting between two of the NBA’s most celebrated franchises, the sports book at the Plaza in downtown Las Vegas has posted betting props pairing players from the 1984 NBA Finals head to head against players from this year’s championship series.

Abdul-Jabbar, for example, who averaged 26.6 points a game for the Lakers in the 1984 Finals despite fighting migraine headaches, is listed as a 3 1/2-point underdog against Kobe Bryant in one matchup. That means if Bryant averages more than 30.1 points a game in this year’s Finals, his backers at the betting window will cash their tickets; otherwise, Abdul-Jabbar bettors will win.

Bryant also appears in a prop against 1984 Larry Bird, who scored 27.4 points a game on the way to winning the series’ Most Valuable Player Award, and against 1984 Magic Johnson in a prop based on the combined total of rebounds plus assists a game.

Other props match 1984 Johnson against Pau Gasol in this year’s series; 1984 Worthy against Lamar Odom and Paul Pierce; 1984 Rambis against Luke Walton; and 1984 McHale against Paul Pierce, among others.

The Lakers and Celtics also met in the NBA Finals in 1985 and 1987, but the 1984 series, won by Boston, was not only the first time Johnson and Bird clashed for the title, but also the only series of the three to go seven games.

The throwback props at the Plaza are just one of a slew of betting options for gamblers on the NBA Finals.

Although they are a 2 1/2-point underdog in today’s opening game, the Lakers are a solid favorite to win the series. L.A. is listed at minus-190 (risk $1.90 to win $1) on the series line at the Las Vegas Hilton, and even higher elsewhere. The Plaza lists the Lakers as a minus-210 favorite. The Celtics are plus-170 at the Hilton and plus-180 at the Plaza.

Oddsmakers at Cal Neva (multiple locations including Binion’s and the Four Queens) also have the Lakers at minus-190 to win the series, but they seem to be taking a slight position on L.A. in the exact result proposition. Among the odds that stand out, for instance:

• The Lakers to win in four games is 10-1 at the Hilton, 5-1 at Cal Neva. The Lakers in five games is 3-1 at the Hilton, 5-2 at Cal Neva. The Lakers in six games is 4-1 at the Hilton, 7-2 at Cal Neva.

• The Celtics in four games is 25-1 at the Hilton, 30-1 at Cal Neva. The Celtics in six games is 4-1 at the Hilton, 5-1 at Cal Neva. The Celtics in seven games is 3-1 at the Hilton, 7-2 at Cal Neva.

The Lakers have advanced in a more efficient fashion — dispatching their opponents in fewer games — than the Celtics in the playoffs, with the total points in both teams’ games coming in lower than expected. L.A. is 10-4-1 against the point spread in the playoffs, with 10 games finishing “under” the points total posted by oddsmakers and five games going “over.” The Celtics are 8-12 against the spread and 9-11 to the under.

The individual team over/unders for Game 1 are listed at 97 points for the Celtics and 94 1/2 for the Lakers at the Hilton sports book, indicating 191 1/2 expected points — even though 192 and 192 1/2 were the most prominent over/unders listed in Nevada sports books Wednesday.

Among the many other props on the NBA Finals at Las Vegas sports books:

• Will the team that wins the first quarter in Game 1 win the game? (Hilton: yes minus-175/no plus-155).

• Will Bryant record a double-double (points, rebounds, assists) in any game of the series? (Plaza: yes minus-125/no plus-105).

Betting on the player to win the MVP of the series is not permitted in Nevada, but Bryant is a heavy favorite in the range of minus-170 at sports books in other parts of the world.