O'Neal out for revenge over the Pistons

The biggest sporting event Stateside at the moment is without doubt the NBA Conference finals, as the defending champions the Detroit Pistons take on the Miami Heat and the Phoenix Suns meet the San Antonio Spurs.

The Spurs showed why they are the outright favourites with victory over the Suns in the opening game of their seven-game series in Phoenix on Sunday, but much of the attention will be focused on the Pistons and the Heat, as Shaquille O'Neal bids for revenge over the team who denied him and his Los Angeles Lakers colleagues in the NBA Finals last year.

Shaq's move to Miami has lifted both his game and that of the Heat, who host the opening game of the best-of-seven game series on Monday night. The big question for Miami however is whether Shaq will be fit to take his place on court on Monday, with a bruised thigh having kept him out since the second game of the Heat's sweep of the Washington Wizards earlier this month. As ever, his presence is likely to be crucial - O'Neal averaged 22.9 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks a game in the regular season as the Heat won the most games in the conference.

Giving the Pistons a 4.5-point start, the Heat are 9-10 (1.90) favourites for the first game of the series on Monday night, but the Pistons will be hoping for strong performances from Ben Wallace, Antonio McDyess, Rasheed Wallace, and Elden Campbell as they attempt to block Shaq and the Miami offence. The Pistons are appearing in the Conference Finals for a third straight year, after they saw off the Indiana Pacers in the previous round.

The Phonenix Suns, the first team in three years to go from missing the play-offs one year to reaching the Conference Final the next, are already up against it after losing the opening game 121-114 at home to the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday night. The Suns are appearing at this stage for the first time in 12 years, while the Spurs will be hoping to go one step further than last year when they lost out in the second round of the play-offs.

The Suns won on Sunday without the injured Joe Johnson, their starting guard, but their impressive attacking nature promises another exciting match-up in Tuesday's second game of the series, which again takes place in Phoenix. Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili both shrugged off injuries to make game one and should improve again on Tuesday.

Much of the Spurs' attention will be on Steve Nash, who joined the Suns from Dallas at the end of last season and has been in outstanding form in the post-season. Nash scored 39 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds in the last game of their victory over Dallas in the previous round, having notched two straight triple-doubles in his previous two games. Nash then scored 29 points, eight rebounds and 13 assists in the Suns' loss on Sunday night.

Despite his form, the Spurs are 9/10 (1.90) with a four-point start to win Tuesday's game. The Suns are 9-10 giving up the four-point start.

The Spurs are 11/10 (2.10) favourites to win the overall NBA title, while the Heat are 5/2 (3.50). The Pistons are 7/2 (4.50) and the Suns are the outsiders at 7/1 (8.00).