Spurs march on towards NBA finals

The NBA Conference Finals head into their crucial third and fourth games this weekend but it's already looking like it could be a heavyweight clash between the San Antonio Spurs and last year's champions, the Detroit Pistons, in the NBA finals.

The Spurs, who began the Conference Finals as 11/10 (2.20) outright favourites, lead the Phoenix Suns 2-0 in their best-of-seven game series after two wins on the road, and they have now been cut to 5/7 (1.71) favourites for the title. The Suns, who really must win at least one of the next two games in San Antonio to stand a chance, are 20/1 (21.00) outsiders, having been 7/1 (8.00) at the start of the series.

In addition, given the way they won the first two games, the Spurs appear to be a generous bet at 9/10 (1.90) to win Saturday's game three, giving up just a 5.5-point start, while the Suns are 9/10 (1.90) on the same handicap.

O'Neal key for Miami
Shaquille O'Neal's bruised thigh is hurting Miami's chances of getting past the Pistons, and they needed a 40-point game from Dwayne Wade to help them salvage a share of their home games and make it 1-1 in their best-of-seven series.

O'Neal is bidding for revenge over the team who denied him and his Los Angeles Lakers colleagues in the NBA Finals last year, but the Pistons, who now have two games at home, look strong. The bookies have cut the champions from 7/2 (4.50) to 5/2 (3.50), while the Heat are out to third favourites, having been lengthened to 17/4 (5.25) from 5/2 (3.50) at the start of the series. The Heat need O'Neal at his best - the 7'1" giant 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.

Bet365 also expect the Pistons to win game three of their series on Sunday. They offer them at 9/10 (1.90) giving up a 5-point start, while the Heat, who should never be discounted, are 9/10 (1.90) on the same handicap.

For the record, the Pistons are appearing in the Conference Finals for a third straight year. In contrast, the Suns are the first team in three years to go from missing the play-offs one year to reaching the Conference Final and are appearing at this stage for the first time in 12 years. The Spurs are hoping to go one step further than last year when they lost out in the second round of the play-offs.