There may not be much time to bet

Individual proposition bets connected to this year’s NBA Finals have provided numerous opportunities for gamblers willing to look deep into the player matchups between the Lakers and Boston Celtics.

Just check out some of the prop bets sitting on the table for Game 5 at Staples Center.

* Can the Lakers’ Lamar Odom repeat his Game 4 performance when he scored a team-high 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in Boston’s 97-91 victory?

At Sportsbook.com, the combined points and rebounds line on Odom for tonight’s game is 22 1/2 with the over and under both at -115.

* Will Boston’s Ray Allen, shooting 81.8% from the free-throw line in the Finals, miss a free throw? Yes (+220) or No (-300).

* How many times will the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant, who attempted 19 free throws in Game 4, get to the free-throw line? Over 10 (even) or Under 10 (-130).

* Will the Lakers’ Sasha Vujacic, who had 20 points in Game 3 but only three in Game 4, be a factor?

The over/under total points scored on Vujacic is 8 1/2 with the over “even” and the under at -120.

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For tonight’s Game 5, the Celtics will be going for their fifth consecutive victory against the point spread in the Finals.

In Game 1, Boston was favored by three points and defeated the Lakers, 98-88. In Game 2, the Celtics covered the line as a 1 1/2 -point favorite in a 108-102 victory.

The Lakers won Game 3, 87-81, but Boston covered as a 9 1/2 -point underdog, and in Game 4, the Celtics won by six points after being 7 1/2 -point underdogs.

The Lakers are now 0-6 against the point spread in six games against Boston this season, and the Lakers are 0-8 against the point spread in their last eight NBA Finals games.

With Boston leading 3-1 in the best-of-seven series, the chances of the Lakers bouncing back to win the NBA Finals are not strong.

In updated exact series odds listed at Bodoglife.com, the Lakers are at 5-1 to win the Finals in seven games. The Celtics are at 9-4 to win in five, 6-5 to win in six and 7-2 to win in seven.

In the bet for most valuable player of the Finals, Boston has the top three favorites with Paul Pierce the front-runner with 1-4 odds, followed by Kevin Garnett at 2-1 and Allen at 7-2. Bryant is next with 11-2 odds.

Baseball

This has been a very interesting season for the New York Mets, who will close out a three-game interleague series against the Texas Rangers today at Shea Stadium.

The Mets, picked by many to reach the World Series this year, have been a team of streaks. Twice, the Mets have lost five consecutive games and two other times, they have lost three in a row.

New York will start right-hander John Maine, who is 6-4 record with a 3.60 earned-run average, against Kevin Millwood, 4-3 and 4.91 ERA.

The Mets are favored for today’s game at -154 with the Rangers listed at +146.

In Bodoglife.com’s updated future odds posted for the National League pennant, the Chicago Cubs are the favorite at 5-2, followed by the Arizona Diamondbacks at 7-2 and Philadelphia Phillies at 9-2.

The Dodgers are at 8-1 and Colorado, the defending NL champion, is listed at 66-1.

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lonnie.white@latimes.com