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NBA playoffs all about star power

No league hypes its stars more than the NBA, and the playoffs are no exception. Expect to see plenty of Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwight Howard, Paul Pierce, Dwyane Wade, Derrick Rose, Dirk Nowitzki, Carmelo Anthony, Steve Nash, Tim Duncan and Kevin Durant. And nowhere will you find more NBA player props than at Bodog, the web’s gaming leader for more than 15 years.

The casual basketball fan might be getting his or her first look at Durant, who just became the NBA’s youngest-ever scoring champion and is in his first playoffs with the rising Oklahoma City Thunder. Can Durant lead his eighth-seeded Thunder to a huge upset over Kobe and the Lakers in the first round? Bet on it with Bodog’s NBA odds. The Lakers haven’t been the same without an injured Andrew Bynum, and the Thunder played L.A. very tough this year, including a win in the last meeting. But a top-seeded team has lost just three times in the first round of the NBA playoffs (2007 Mavericks, 1999 Heat and 1994 Sonics). Perhaps Los Angeles’ toughest test out West will be Phoenix, which was 23-6 following the All-Star break.

In the Eastern Conference, the favored Cleveland Cavaliers added Shaquille O’Neal to help stop the Orlando Magic’s Howard, who dominated the Cavs in last year’s East Finals. Despite all the hype around LeBron and the Cavs, who again have the NBA’s best record, it was Orlando – which is 10/3 behind Cleveland to win the East on Bodog’s NBA futures odds -- that had the league’s top mark in the second half of this season. The young Hawks and aging Celtics seem unlikely to stop another Cavs-Magic East Finals this season. And Cavs fans are hoping that LeBron can bring a title to championship-starved Cleveland, as that city hasn’t won a title in one of the four major sports since 1964. And maybe, just maybe, LeBron will the re-sign with Cleveland as a free agent this summer to try for a repeat.

From the first tip of this year’s NBA playoffs to the final buzzer in the Finals, Bodog will have numerous NBA game, player and team props and odds to keep even the most devoted NBA fan occupied. Basketball season really starts now in the Association – so get those bets down at the industry’s most trusted gaming site: Bodog.

Think you know hockey? Prove it and win at Bodog!

There is no question the two marquee stars in the NHL are Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby and Washington’s Alexander Ovechkin. Yet for all of Ovechkin’s individual brilliance – including two MVP awards – he has won just a single playoff series thus far in his career. Crosby, on the other hand, has reached the Stanley Cup Finals twice and hoisted the Cup last summer. Which star will outdo the other this season? You can bet on that with Bodog’s NHL playoff props.

The Capitals won the Presidents’ Cup as the team with the most points during the regular season, meaning any Game 7 in this year’s playoffs involving the Caps will be played in D.C. But the Presidents’ Cup has not been a harbinger of good luck, as in the past six seasons only one team – the 2007-08 Detroit Red Wings – has won the Stanley Cup. Yet Bodog lists the Capitals as the team to beat at 3/1 to win the Cup on its NHL futures odds.

What about the Chicago Blackhawks? No Original Six team has had a longer drought of hoisting Lord Stanley’s Cup – Chicago hasn’t won it since the 1960-61 season. But this year’s team is the Blackhawks’ most talented in years, having set franchise records with 23 road wins, 52 total wins and 112 points. Chicago also won the Central Division for its first division title in 17 years. With Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa, the Blackhawks have the offensive firepower that can be matched perhaps only by Washington. But goaltending wins the Stanley Cup, and there are questions about how Blackhawks goalie Antti Niemi will respond in his first playoffs. Chicago, which lost in the conference finals last year, enters the postseason as Bodog’s second-favorite on futures odds to win the Cup at 9/2.

Remember the excitement of this year’s Olympic hockey tournament in Vancouver? The Stanley Cup playoffs bring that level of play every night. So don’t miss out on all the NHL betting options at Bodog.