NBA: Boo

The NBA – some say appropriately – considers Halloween its 2006-2007 coming-out party.

A quartet of teams took to the court for the first time in the regular season game, although this momentous occasion was somewhat blurred in the Christmas uproar and ongoing NFL wars.

“People are still interested in soccer,” said New Frontier chief bookmaker Tony Nevil.

“It will be like this for three or four more weeks, at least until the end of the universities.

“These are weeks that will also largely define the NFL.

“Interest in basketball, professional and college, will increase when (colleges) start playing those tournaments in late November.

“I once heard a man say, ‘You start the NBA with short sleeves and you end with short sleeves too.’

“That’s very true.”

Nevil noted that a good part of the NBA’s opening action centers on totals.

“It’s a struggle those first four weeks or so while the teams work on their rotations,” he said.

“I see it as an extension of the preseason.

“It’s a time when handicaps follow teams in local newspapers (on the Internet).”

November is also when basketball faithful look months ahead to the spring playoffs and start speculating which clubs will win league conferences.

Some Vegans may keep an eye on the league even more closely than normal, because the city will host the 2007 NBA All-Star Game in February.

That level once thought unattainable was achieved in large part thanks to the efforts of the Maloof family, owners of the Palms Hotel and Casino, as well as the Sacramento Kings.

Friends of NBA Commissioner David Stern, ever since George Maloof Sr. owned the Houston Rockets in the 1980s, the clan had little trouble convincing Stern to host the annual extravaganza right in the middle of the game’s Mecca. sports team, once the bookies agreed not to accept shares in the East-West Talent Show – a stance considered a bit hypocritical by some.

Early Finals futures action, as usual, spreads.

The teams that get the most play are the ones that have dominated in recent years, although some longer shots are attracting betting attention.

“The Spurs, Mavs, Suns and Heat,” said Jeff Sherman, supervisor and odds maker for Hilton SuperBook, as he perused the lists of computers reporting the top contenders.

Defending champion Miami and San Antonio, who have won two titles over the years, opened as Hilton 4/1 co-favorites, with Phoenix close behind at 9/2 and Dallas at 5/1.

Detroit, the 2004 champion, registered on 8/1.

The Spurs are the current 4/1 favorites, with the Suns, Mavs and Heat at 9/2 and the Pistons at 9/1.

Sherman clicked on Cleveland, Chicago and the Los Angeles Clippers when asked to name clubs considered long shots that are getting bitten.

The Cavaliers have gone from 1/15 to 1/11 to win the Championship as expectations for LeBron James continue to rise.

The Bulls, who stampeded to the Heat 108-66 in their opener Tuesday, are still 15/1 while the Clippers remain at 40/1.

The Los Angeles Lakers, always local favorites, are also still 40/1.

Nevil thinks he’s pretty safe predicting that the Suns, who lost 114-106 on Tuesday to the Lakers, who were playing without Kobe Bryant, will win the West.

“They are young, aggressive and if they stay healthy they will be tough to beat on the Left Coast,” Nevil said.

He feels he is taking a chance by predicting that Cleveland will dominate the East.

“They’re a long shot, but I’m sticking with LeBron and the Boys,” Nevil said.

“Maybe this is your year.

“They are young and hungry enough.”