O’Neal trade has an effect on all the odds

Shaquille O’Neal’s trade from Miami to Phoenix has been the biggest news in the sports betting world this week and the deal has forced oddsmakers to adjust the Suns’ postseason numbers.

According to Bodoglife.com, the odds on the Suns winning the Western Conference before the trade were 5-2; after the deal they improved to 2-1. The odds on Phoenix winning the NBA championship before the trade were 4-1; now they are 7-2.

Although the Suns’ playoff odds have improved on some sports boards since the trade, AccuScore.com -- which simulates every game 10,000 times -- has a different take on O’Neal’s impact playing for Phoenix.

With the Suns at full strength playing with Shawn Marion -- who was traded with guard Marcus Banks to Miami for O’Neal -- they win 55% of the remaining games on their schedule.

But with O’Neal installed in the lineup in place of Marion, Phoenix’s winning percentage drops to 47%.

In breaking down the results, AccuScore.com’s simulator has the Suns’ offense showing a slight improvement in field goals made and three-point shooting with O’Neal in the lineup.

But Phoenix also has to deal with O’Neal’s poor free-throw shooting and turnovers.

The Suns made 1.5 fewer free throws despite attempting one more a game, which negates their higher number of field goals made. With O’Neal, Phoenix also makes 2.5 more turnovers.

Here are more updated odds connected with O’Neal’s trade to Phoenix listed at Bodoglife.com: Suns over/under win total post-trade: 23; Heat over/under win total post-trade: 11.5; How many points per game will O’Neal average with Phoenix? Over/under 16.5; How many rebounds per game will O’Neal average with Phoenix? Over/under 7.5; How many games will O’Neal play for the Suns this season? Over/under 25; How many minutes per game will O’Neal average in Phoenix for the rest of the season? Over/under 30 minutes.

How many points per game will Marion average with the Heat for the rest of the season? Over/under 19.5; How many rebounds per game will Marion average with the Heat for the rest of the season? Over/under 10; How many points per game will Phoenix’s Amare Stoudemire average for the rest of the season? Over/under 22; How many rebounds per game will Stoudemire average for the rest of the season? Over/under 8.5.

Pro hockey

The Ducks will play at New Jersey for the first time since the teams met in the 2003 Stanley Cup finals and oddsmakers have made the Devils money-line favorites at -150.

Action for the game has been pretty close with the Ducks receiving 50.23% of the picks, according to Wagerline.com’s betting table as of Thursday night.

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