Posts Tagged ‘basketball’
NBA Finals Betting Preview Betus.com betting line – Orlando -2, 201 O/U Lakers lead series 2-1 The Orlando Magic needed some motivation from the home crowd to get their swagger back and that is exactly what happened in Game 3 Tuesday night. The Magic down 2 games answered back with a strong offensive performance and was able to post 108 points to beat the Lakers by 4 points. Orlando impressively knocked down 62% as a team from the field marking their best all around effort thus far throughout the playoffs. Los Angeles played a solid game, but just didn’t have the spark they needed to capture the victory. The Lakers also were very strong from the floor knocking down 51% as a team. Neither team had over 30 rebounds in the game just to put on emphasis on how well both teams were shooting Tuesday night. However, now Orlando has some confidence back on their side and is hunger to grab another victory this Thursday night at home to even up the series. Orlando really clicked in all aspects of their game Tuesday night. Dwight Howard was solid on the inside, despite not getting as many touches as expected. Rashard Lewis made some critical three point shots at important parts of the game. Lewis and Howard both had 21 points a piece to lead Orlando in scoring. However, Rafer Alston may have been the biggest difference maker on the floor in Game 3. Alston was consistently able to drive to the basket and make shots rattle in the cylinder. Alston finished with 20 points and also did a nice job of distributing the ball as well. Hedo Turkoglu added 18 points with a solid shooting effort going 7 of 12 from the floor meaning Orlando’s leading 4 combined for 80 points which is by far the best effort they have gotten from their starter in the NBA Finals. Perhaps it was the home crowd environment that sparked the strong play or it was simply Orlando had their back against the wall and could not afford another loss. Which ever it was, the Magic will need to do it again this Thursday night. Los Angeles looked very strong despite a terrific performance from Orlando. Despite the Magic hitting nearly every shot, the Lakers still had a legitimate shot to come out victorious. Can Orlando really play that well 3 more games or do the Lakers just need to continue playing strong like they have been? Kobe Bryant had another big night despite growing cold in the 2nd half. Still Bryant managed to put together 31 points by the time the buzzer had sounded. Pau Gasol had another strong performance with 23 points going 9 for 11 from the field. However, the Lakers simply did have enough in the tank in the end to overcome Orlando. Derek Fisher and Andrew Bynum both have uncharacteristically quiet nights as the two combined for only 13 points. The amazing observation from Game 3 is how well Orlando played and still how the Lakers could have won the ball game. Los Angeles matched Orlando’s intensity on the glass and shot the ball well. The Lakers had some foul concerns from the early on in the game and that could have taken some of the aggressiveness out of their defense. However, the Lakers still must do a better job at contending Orlando’s shots in Game 4. The Lakers will surprisingly be a two point underdog as many will jump on those odds. Pick – Lakers +2
Los Angeles Lakers at Orlando Magic
Thursday, 9:00PM Eastern
Tags: 2009 NBA Finals, basketball, L.A Lakers, NBA Championship, Orlando Magic, playoffs
NBA Finals Game Three Bookmaker Sportsbook Opening Line: Magic – 4 , Total 198.5 The Orlando Magic had a chance in the NBA Finals to make the Los Angeles Lakers sweat and it remains to be seen if they get another one. Courtney Lee missed a layup with less than a second remaining in Game 2 and the Magic ended up losing Game 2 in overtime. Now the series shifts to Orlando where the Magic face a must-win Game 3 on Tuesday. SBG Global reports that early NBA betting has the public taking Magic at Home. The Lakers realize they could have lost on Sunday and Kobe Bryant has promised they will play better on Tuesday. “We’re about to kick it up,” he said. “You’d better believe it. We’re close. You see what I’m saying? This is the finals. We’re going to be ready to go.” The Lakers have been an up and down team during the playoffs but Pau Gasol believes that is over. “We’re playing tougher,” Gasol said. “We understand what it takes to go get the championship.” The problem for Orlando is NBA history. Only three teams have won an NBA title after losing the first two games. “We’ve just got to go home and take care of business,” Magic center Dwight Howard said. “The Lakers did a good job of protecting their home, and now it’s our turn to do the same thing. We’ve been in some tough situations. We’ve just got to fight our way out.” Orlando has a number of issues they must correct if they are to make this into a series. The first problem is turnovers. They had 20 turnovers in Game 2 and their point guards were awful. Rafer Alston and Jameer Nelson have played very poorly and Orlando head coach Stan Van Gundy had to go to Hedo Turkoglu to run the point for a while. “We were just trying to see if we could get somebody out there who would make shots off of the double teams and off the pick-and-rolls and things like that,” Van Gundy said. “I thought our guys fought hard, but we couldn’t make enough plays. And the 20 turnovers crushed us.” Here are the NBA betting stats for Tuesday’s game. The Lakers are 22-8-2 ATS in their last 32 games as a road underdog. The Lakers are 2-5 ATS in the last 7 meetings. The Magic are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 playoff games as a favorite. Bookmaker.Com Current Line: Magic – 4 , Total 198 The Under is 10-1 in the Lakers last 11 vs. the Eastern Conference. The Under is 11-5 in the Lakers last 16 road games. The Under is 7-2 in Orlando’s last 9 playoff games as a favorite. The Over is 5-0 in the last 5 meetings in Orlando between the two teams. Pick: Magic roll easily
Los Angeles Lakers at Orlando Magic (Lakers lead 2-0)
Tuesday, 9:05 pm Eastern – ABC
Tags: basketball, betting, final, Los Angeles lakers, nba, Orlando Magic, sports
NBA Playoff Preview SBG Global Opening Line: Nuggets - 5 , Total 208 The Los Angeles Lakers will try and close out the Denver Nuggets in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals on Friday. The Nuggets have outplayed the Lakers for the most part in this series but at critical times they have made mistakes and they trail three games to two. “For most of the series, we outplayed them for most stretches of the game,” Denver’s Chauncey Billups said. “We just couldn’t get over the hump in the fourth quarter in a few different situations.” SBG Global reports that early NBA betting has the public taking Lakers on the Road. The Nuggets have not played with much discipline in this series and it has cost them but head coach George Karl is not going to do anything different on Friday. “You guys are almost saying you’ve got to have savvy and poise to be a championship team,” Karl told reporters, “I mean, you think the Detroit Pistons have the poise that the San Antonio Spurs have? No, I mean there’s a different way of handling emotional, passionate, intense players. We have some guys who are emotional. Maybe a little too emotional. But for me, I’m not going to tell them to stop that because I think that stops them from becoming a competitor.” The Lakers have been so unpredictable in the playoffs that anything is possible in Game 6. If Los Angeles brings their best game they could end this series but rarely have the Lakers played great in back-to-back games. “That’s what the conversation has been about this entire postseason, our team, our potential and our capabilities,” Derek Fisher said. Here are the NBA betting stats for Friday’s game. The Lakers are 21-8-2 ATS in their last 31 games as a road underdog. The Lakers are 12-5 ATS in the last 17 meetings between the two teams. The Nuggets are 8-1 ATS in their last 9 games as a home favorite. The Nuggets are 21-6 ATS in their last 27 games overall. SBG Global Current Line: Nuggets - 5.5 , Total 208.5 The Under is 9-1 in the Lakers last 10 Conference Finals games. The Under is 11-4 in the Lakers last 15 road games. The Over is 11-5 in the Nuggets last 16 games as a home favorite. The Under is 6-1 in the last 7 meetings in Denver between the two teams. Pick: Nuggets
Los Angeles Lakers at Denver Nuggets (Lakers lead 3-2)
Friday, 9:05 pm Eastern – ESPN
Tags: basketball, Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles lakers, nba, sports
NBA Playoff Preview SBG Global Opening Line: Nuggets - 1 , Total 209.5 The Dallas Mavericks will try and avoid elimination on Monday night as they host the Denver Nuggets in Game 4 of their Western Conference semifinal series. The Mavericks probably should only be down 2-1 in this series but a bad call by the referees allowed Denver’s Carmelo Anthony to get away a 3-point shot that he hit to win Game 3 by a score of 106-105 on Saturday. “We’re not going to get that last play back, so just by watching it doesn’t do us any good,” Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki said. SBG Global reports that early NBA betting has the public taking Mavericks at Home. The NBA has admitted that the referees made a mistake in Game 3 but that doesn’t change the fact that instead of being down 2-1 the Mavericks are down 3-0 in this series. No team in NBA history has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a series so it doesn’t look good for Dallas. The Nuggets though are taking nothing for granted heading into Monday’s game. “We’re going to be aggressive and we’re going to fight extremely hard,” said Denver’s Chauncey Billups, “They’re facing elimination. That’s always the toughest game to win, especially in a sweep situation. They’re going to fight really hard and do everything they can possibly do to keep their season alive.” The Mavericks have never been swept in a four-game series so Monday’s game should be interesting. “These guys have met adversity with unity, with a collective will,” Dallas head coach Rick Carlisle said. “It happened in November; we got off to a 2-7 start. It happened in January; we lost four games in a row and everybody said we wouldn’t be a playoff team. It happened after we lost to Oklahoma City … and it’s obviously going to happen now. But, hey, that’s what this is about. When it gets tough, you’ve got to stick together and keep fighting.” Here are the NBA betting stats for Monday’s game. The Nuggets are 7-2 ATS in their last 9 games as a road underdog. The Nuggets are 16-5 ATS in their last 21 games overall. The Nuggets are 5-0 ATS in the last 5 meetings in Dallas. SBG Global Current Line: Mavericks - 1.5 , Total 210 The Mavericks are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games as a home favorite. The Mavericks are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 Conference Semifinals games. The Under is 8-3 in the last 11 meetings in Dallas between the two teams.
Denver Nuggets at Dallas Mavericks (Nuggets lead 3-0)
Monday, 9:35 pm Eastern – TNT
Tags: basketball, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, nba, sports
NBA Playoff Preview Atlanta Hawks at Cleveland Cavaliers (Cavaliers lead 1-0) SBG Global Opening Line: Cavaliers - 12 , Total 177 The Cleveland Cavaliers will try and take a 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday. The Cavaliers are heavily favored to win Game 2 considering they have only lost two games at home all season. Cleveland has been rolling throughout the playoffs so far, winning all five of their games by double-digits. SBG Global reports that early NBA betting has the public taking Cavaliers at Home. Cleveland is giving up only 76.8 points per game in the playoffs which is even better than they did in the regular season when they led the entire league in defense. The Hawks actually scored 44 points in the first half of Game 1 before Cleveland’ coaching staff made a statement about the poor defense and the Cavaliers slammed the door on the Hawks in the second half. “The coaches got on us,” Cleveland center Zydrunas Ilgauskas said. “They were shooting 56 percent from the field or so, getting some dunks. We came out flat or lackadaisical. The second half was different, we got some stops and they only got one offensive rebound.” Cleveland played great defense in the second half, got another superb game out of league MVP LeBron James who scored 34 points and rolled to a 99-72 win. It could be more of the same on Thursday. Here are the NBA betting stats for Thursday’s game. The Hawks are 12-3 ATS in their last 15 vs. the Central. The Hawks are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 playoff games as an underdog. The Cavaliers are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 Conference Semifinals games. The Cavaliers are 36-15 ATS in their last 51 games as a home favorite. The home team is 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings between the two teams and the favorite is 17-8 ATS in the last 25 meetings. SBG Global Current Line: Cavaliers - 12.5 , Total 179 The Under is 5-0 in the Hawks last 5 games as a road underdog. The Under is 5-1 in the Hawks last 6 overall. The Under is 5-1 in the Hawks last 6 vs. the Eastern Conference. The Over is 13-5-1 in the Hawks last 19 vs. the Central. The Under is 4-0 in the Cavaliers last 4 playoff games as a favorite. The Under is 15-4 in the Cavaliers last 19 Conference Semifinals games. The Under is 41-20-1 in the Cavaliers last 62 games as a home favorite.
Thursday, 8:05 pm Eastern – ESPN
Tags: Atlanta Hawks, basketball, Cleveland Cavaliers, nba, sports
NBA Playoffs Betting Preview Boston leads series 3-2 Betus.com betting line – Chicago -3, 196 O/U The Chicago Bulls and the Boston Celtics have put together possibly one of the best opening round playoff series in history. Tuesday night’s game was just another example of how exciting the last 5 games have been. The Celtics and the Bulls went into overtime for the 3rd time in 5 games and it was the 4th game that the margin of victory has been 3 points or less. The basketball slugfest has become the first series in postseason history to have 3 overtimes. Late in the 4th quarter in Tuesday night’s game the Bulls were faced with an inbounds play with less than 10 seconds remaining. Chicago Coach Vinny Del Negro drew up a perfect play which allowed Brad Miller to roll towards the basket wide open and seemed to have an easy two point lay-up. However, Miller was fouled rather hard by Boston guard Rajon Rondo. After review of the play, the foul could have easily been called intentional as Rondo’s hand came across Miller’s face leaving him with a mouth full of blood. Miller went on to miss both free throws even though the 2nd miss was on purpose and Boston got the rebound which gave them a 3-2 lead in the series. The Bulls now have their back against the wall, but judging how well they have played it would be surprising if this series does not see a Game 7. Rajon Rondo led the Boston Celtics with 28 points on Tuesday night continuing his stellar postseason play. Rondo has averaged 24.2 points in the 5 games played and has been vital to the Celtics success. However, Paul Pierce was the real hero from Tuesday night’s classic battle. Pierce has really come on strong the last few outings with strong shooting performances. Late in the 4th quarter, Pierce knocked down a crucial basket right above the free throw line which tied the game and sent the contest into overtime. Pierce knocked down many clutch shots as the game winded down, but the biggest was another similar 17 footer with 3.2 seconds to go which ended up being the game winning basket. Ray Allen who has been the primary clutch shooter for the Boston Celtics through the series, fouled out in the game. Allen finished with only 10 points on the night. Boston will look for Allen to back to rhythm and hope Pierce and Rondo can stay hot this Thursday night. Chicago has put up a valiant effort to take down the defending World Champions, but they are quickly running out of time. The Bulls still have a glimmer of hope, but to pull off back to back wins over Boston will be far from a small task. Chicago shooting guard Ben Gordon has been super throughout the series, but a hamstring injury seems to be taking effect. Gordon still managed to drain 26 points in the overtime loss on Tuesday night, but his shot was a bit altered all night as he tried to make up for the ailing hamstring. If Gordon starts to struggle, the Bulls chances to win the series goes from bad to worse. John Salmons has not but spectacular, but effectively consistent averaging 16 points through the series. Rookie Derrick Rose has been hot and cold. Rose needs to be the man to step up for Ben Gordon if the hamstring continues to affect his play. For a rookie, that may be placing a lot of pressure on the young guard. However, Rose can get a hot hand quickly making him very dangerous. Expect to see another great effort from Chicago at home in Game 6. Pick – Over 196
Boston Celtics at Chicago Bulls
7:00PM Eastern Thursday, April 30th, 2009
Tags: basketball, Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, nba playoffs
NBA Playoff Betting Preview Betus.com betting line – Orlando -10, 193.5 O/U The Philadelphia 76ers overcame a 18 point deficit in the opening game of their postseason playoff appearance against the Orlando Magic to score a dramatic upset victory. The 76ers were 10 point underdogs heading into the event and it quickly looked like Orlando may have been a bit too powerful. However, Andre Iguodala and company led a fierce comeback in the 4th quarter with Iguodala draining the game winning bucket with just less than 3 seconds to play in the game. The victory was the first for the 76ers over the Magic this season considering Orlando won the previous 3 regular season match-ups. Orlando will look to rebound on Wednesday night as they get Game 2 at home as well as they seek to even up the series. Similar to the first game Orlando will be again 10 point favorites in the contest, but hopefully it will be another hard fought exciting grudge match. Philadelphia answered a lot of questions with the strong confidence building comeback victory. The 76ers had lost 6 straight games before taking advantage of a resting Cleveland team in the season finale. The disappointing finish to the season raised a lot of red flags around the organization and many figured that the Magic would dominate the series. However, after facing a little bit of adversity Philadelphia has the chance to put the Magic in a big hole if they can win. If they get the victory over, they would put Orlando down two games and will return home which would be extremely hard for the Magic to overcome. Philadelphia will have to find a way to slow down Dwight Howard who had a big night in Game 1 with 31 points and 16 rebounds. Interestingly the 76ers actually out rebounded the Magic despite Howard seemingly dominating the glass. Add to the fact Andre Miller had a rather quiet night with only 15 points. The fate of the team may rest in how effective Miller and Iguodala can be in the upcoming games, but they will have to withstand Orlando who will be out for revenge on Wednesday night. Orlando is among the top 3 teams we have heard about all year in the Eastern Conference. Orlando, Boston, and Cleveland are the huge favorites to win the East. However, as Chicago and Philadelphia have proved there are some hungry challengers and it is imperative that Orlando get back on the right foot tonight. Expect the Magic to come out with a chip on their shoulder. Dwight Howard must have another big night especially on the glass. Meanwhile, Hedo Turkoglu must come out and have a better night than the 6 point and 25% shooting from the floor he had in Game 1. The difference in game 1 and the previous games where Orlando scored all victories is that Philadelphia simply knocked down shots from the perimeter. Orlando solid defense has been big attribute to their success this season and I would expect them to challenge the 76ers shots a bit more in this game. Orlando must put it together for all 4 quarters if they plan on evening the series back up and avoiding the unthinkable 0-2. Pick – Orlando fires back convincingly
Philadelphia 76ers at Orlando Magic
Wednesday, April 22nd, 7:00PM Eastern
Tags: basketball, nba, nba playoffs, Orlando, Philadelphia
NBA Playoff Preview Game 1 Utah at Los Angeles The Utah Jazz will step up to the plate to give their best effort at taking down the huge favorites in the Los Angeles Lakers in game 1 this Sunday. The Lakers handled the Jazz fairly convincingly in their 125-112 victory in the last game of the regular season. Andrew Bynum scored 22 points in his biggest game back since the knee injury. The Lakers have been more than dominant all season against Western Conference Teams and it will be interesting to see if the trend continues. Utah has been anything but stellar down the stretch losing 7 of their last 9 games to carry them into the post season. The Jazz did beat the Lakers back in February and will attempt to find a way to get the job done again. Deron Williams has carried the team all season with 20 points per game while star Carlos Boozer has been unexpectedly inconsistent in recent weeks. Betus.com betting line – Lakers -11.5 Pick – This could be a sweep series for the Lakers, but Utah should keep it closer than 11.5 in their first big attempt. Game 2 Philadelphia at Orlando The 76ers were in desperate need of a big victory when they took down Cleveland in the season finale 111-110. Philadelphia had lost 6 straight games before that victory in an extremely disappointing stretch of basketball to close out the season. The 76ers will go on the road to take on Orlando in their opening game of the playoffs. The Magic closed out the season by losing 4 of their last 6 games. At least for Orlando they had won 17 of their last 20 before the losing skid. The Magic have been among the best teams in the East all season, but have been inconsistent at times as well. The main aspect to look at it this series is that Orlando beat Philadelphia in all 3 meetings this season and many question if Philadelphia has what it takes to turn that completely around. Betus.com betting line – Orlando -9.5 Game 3 Miami Heat at Atlanta Hawks The Heat and Hawks showdown in the playoffs may very well be one of the best opening round series. Atlanta captured 3 out of 4 games over the Heat in the regular season including a tough 81-79 victory last Tuesday. The Hawks closed out the season winning 4 of their last 5 games and have seemed to gotten the best of the Heat this season. However, Dwayne Wade and company will likely come out swinging. Wade the NBA’s leading scorer this season (30ppg) sat out last Tuesday to rest up for the playoffs. Michael Beasley is developing into another Miami lethal threat as he continues to play good down the stretch. Atlanta Hawks shooting guard Joe Johnson scored 20 plus point in all meetings against the Heat outside of their previous meeting where he only played limited time for rest. These two teams have all the makings to be in store for a back and forth season and if Miami can get the first game win it should get interesting. Betus.com betting line – Atlanta -5 Game 4 New Orleans at Denver The Denver Nuggets have been one of the hottest teams in the West for the latter part of the regular season. Denver closed out the season winning 14 of their last 17 and there are plenty who believe it could come down to Denver and Los Angeles in the Conference. However, New Orleans will try to explode in the post season similar to how they came out of nowhere in the 2008 playoffs. The Hornets were expected to have a big year after their postseason performance last season, but that have simply been very inconsistent. Chris Paul and David West have been very solid averaging over 20 points per game this season, but they have really had limited help. New Orleans ranks in the bottom 5 teams in the NBA only averaging 95.8 points per game as a team. The Hornets will need to score more points against the heavily armed Nuggets offensive attack. Carmelo Anthony and J.R Smith have shared the spotlight over the last few weeks for Denver and if they can continue to play well they should be able to handle the Hornets in this series. Of course that is consider New Orleans does not put together any magic similar to last year. Betus.com betting line – Denver -6
Sunday, April 19th, 2009
Tags: 2009 NBA Playoffs, basketball, nba, nba playoffs
NBA Betting Preview Betus.com betting line – The Atlanta Hawks and the Miami Heat currently hold down the number 4 and 5 positions in the Eastern Conference with only two more days left in the regular season. The two teams will also finish in their respected places in the East meaning only one thing; they will meet in the playoffs in the opening round for a best of 5 series. Atlanta has gotten the best of Miami so far this season winning two of the three previous meetings. The Hawks have also won their last 3 games heading into the showdown with the Heat. The question is with this being nearly the final game of the season will these two teams throw down for all its worth or take it rather lightly giving their best shot when it matters the most in the playoffs. Miami has slid in the wrong direction over the past few weeks. The Heat have now lost 9 of their last 15 games to close out the season and desperately need to get things back on track in time for the post-season. Atlanta got a lot of attention last season for peaking at the right time giving a big underdog type effort in the playoffs taking the Boston Celtics to the 7th game before they went on to win the NBA Championship. Atlanta is looking to get back to playing their best basketball again this post-season when they will battle with Miami in a best of 5 series. The Hawks despite winning their last 3 games have really not played well during the latter part of the season. Before the 3 game winning streak, the Hawks had lost the last 6 out of 8 games. Joe Johnson has been stellar throughout the season averaging 21 points per game and has also averaged 23 points per game over the last 5 showings. Atlanta has a solid group of guys with depth needed during the post-season. Also, the Hawks have played well at home this season with a strong 30-10 record this season. Atlanta will likely get the one game advantage at home during the series which will definitely help their chances of advancing. Miami is another team that has played fairly well at home this season which could really make what could turn out to be an exciting series. However, the Heat has struggled over the past few weeks a lot like Atlanta. Miami is coming off a solid victory over the Knicks on Sunday night 122-105. The NBA’s leading scorer this season is Dwayne Wade who has averaged a very impressive 30 points per game this season. Wade had his biggest night of the season in the big win over the Knicks when the leagues leading scorer knocked down 55 points on the night and shot 65% from the floor. Rookie Michael Beasly had the biggest night of his career in the victory posting 28 points on the night. Beasly has really been playing well lately averaging 20 points per game in the month of April and could become a big force in the post-season. Miami will need to step up their play starting Tuesday night by making a statement against the Hawks and make up for their previous disappointments in the playoffs over the past few years. Pick – Atlanta
Miami Heat (42-38) at Atlanta Hawks (46-34)
Tuesday, 10:30PM Eastern
Tags: Atlanta Hawks, basketball, Eastern Conference, Miami Heat, nba
NBA Betting Preview Betus.com betting line – The last game of the regular season for two playoff bound Western Conference teams will take center stage Tuesday night inside the Staples Center. The Los Angeles Lakers have already wrapped up the top spot in the West clinching home court advantage throughout their playoff run in the conference. The Lakers hold a tremendous 10 ½ game advantage over the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference and have simply been unstoppable. The question all season long surrounding the Western Conference has been can anyone challenge the Los Angeles Lakers? The Utah Jazz will step up to the plate for the 3rd time this season. The Jazz have split their last two meetings this season with the Lakers getting the best of the number 1 team in the West in the last meeting back in February. The match-up potentially could be a playoff pairing between the two considering the Jazz are the last place team in the West that will be playing in the postseason. As long as the Jazz do not jump ahead of Dallas they will battle the Lakers in a 5 games series in the first round meaning this game will be a big confidence builder for either team. The majority of teams may take it easy resting their star players in these type situations. While both clubs still may rest some players, don’t expect those on the floor to not be going at it hard. Los Angeles has won 6 of their last 7 games to close out the season and is huge favorites to win it all in the Western Conference this season. Andrew Bynum has played 3 games since his return to the lineup from a knee injury that sidelined the young center for over two months. Bynum has posted 16 points per game on average in his 3 games back in the line-up and could really give the Lakers a boost on the glass if he could keep improving the shaky knee. Kobe Bryant is averaging an NBA 3rd best 27 points per game for the season. Bryant has had some of his best nights this season against the Jazz posting performances of 37 and 40 points on two different occasions. Bryant tendency to play well against the Jazz may be a sign of how he could explode in the playoffs, but Bryant may actually be on the bench more than usual to rest up on Tuesday night. The Utah Jazz has hit a bumpy road over the last few weeks as they have simply not been good. The Jazz have lost 6 of their last 7 games which is the exact opposite to the opposing Lakers. Deron Williams has been stellar over the past few games despite Utah’s struggles as a team. Williams has averaged a stout 25 points per game over the past 5 outings and has been shooting the ball rather well. Williams has been bothered by a rib injury, but is not expected to miss any playing time. One of the big disappointing factors surround the Jazz recent struggles has been the play of Carlos Boozer. Definitely not putting any blame on one person because that is not the only reason Utah has failed to get many wins recently, but Boozer is a big factor to the offense. Unfortunately, Boozer has been fairly ineffective over the past few games and the Jazz need for him to get back to top form will be crucial for their success from here on out. Pick – Both last games have went over the 213 total, expect this one to stay low.
Utah Jazz (47-33) at LA Lakers (64-17)
Tuesday, 10:30PM Eastern
Tags: basketball, L.A Lakers, nba, Utah Jazz, Western Conference
