NBA Playoff Betting Preview
Utah Jazz at Los Angeles Lakers
Wednesday, 10:35 pm Eastern – TNT

SBG Global Opening Line: Lakers  – 7, Total  209

The Los Angeles Lakers will look to continue their perfect record in the 2008 NBA playoffs as they host the Utah Jazz in game two of their best of seven series on Wednesday. The Lakers dispatched of the Denver Nuggets in round one in a four game sweep and took the first game against the Jazz in this series.  The key for the Lakers was their 16-point advantage at the free throw line in the 109-98 game one victory. SBG Global reports that early NBA betting has the public taking Lakers at Home.

The Lakers actually blew most of a 19 point lead before hitting their last eight free throws to win by 11 points.  The Lakers went 38-46 from the line while the Jazz went 20-32.  The Jazz were physical in game one and the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant, who won the league MVP award on Tuesday, said he expects that to continue. “I’m sure it will; it’s playoff basketball,” he said. “Utah plays physical anyway. Those guys, they play hard. They’re not talking, they just play hard. We’ve just got to do a better job getting to their bodies.”  The referees called a lot of fouls in game one and that definitely helped Los Angeles.  “They play a very physical game, let the referees make a decision on what’s a foul and what isn’t,” Los Angeles head coach Phil Jackson said. “They scrum, they get in the lane, they’re after the ball, they’re pushing and shoving. It’s not our style. We are going to play the kind of game we have to play. Just be more resilient, that’s all.” Kobe hit 21 of 23 free throws in the series opener.

SBG Global Current Line: Lakers  – 6.5, Total  209.5

Utah will try and do a better job of getting the ball inside. “I think we can do a good job of getting the ball inside a little bit more,” Utah’s Carlos Boozer said, “I think we settled for jump shots at times. We’re stronger than them. They’re longer than we are, but we have some guys that like to get in there and bang around a little big and move some bodies and try to get the ball, which is going to be the key for us in this series. We need to continue to go inside and make them work inside.”

The Jazz may have been a bit weary in game one on Sunday but now will have had the same rest as the Lakers for game two on Wednesday. The Lakers are the only unbeaten team in the playoffs. “Every game is Game 7. That’s been our approach,” Kobe Bryant said. “I think with each win, we get more confident. Utah is a much bigger challenge for us than the first round. I think Game 3 in Denver, we played well. Other than that, we’ve been playing in spurts. We haven’t put together a complete game. I think that’s good news.”

The Jazz don’t intend to panic after one loss. “It’s a seven-game series,” Utah’s Deron Williams said. “We’ve lost one game. We’ve just got to stay poised and try to get this next one. We want to try to get back to where we were. We don’t want to go back to Salt Lake down 0-2. We’ve been in that situation before and it’s not pretty.”

Here are the NBA betting stats for Wednesday’s game. The Jazz are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 Wednesday games. The Jazz are 8-17 ATS in their last 25 games playing on 2 days of rest. The Jazz are 2-6 ATS in their last 8 playoff games as an underdog. The Jazz are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games overall. The Jazz are 0-5 ATS in the last 5 meetings in Los Angeles.

The Lakers are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 Conference Semifinals games. The Lakers are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 games as a favorite. The Lakers are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 vs. the Northwest. The Lakers are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 playoff games as a favorite. The Lakers are 7-0 ATS in their last 7 games overall. The Lakers are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games as a home favorite. The Lakers are 8-3 ATS in their last 11 games playing on 2 days of rest. The home team is 8-2 ATS in the last 10 meetings between the two teams and the favorite is 7-3 ATS in the last 10 meetings.

The Under is 4-0 in Utah’s last 4 playoff games as an underdog. The Over is 4-1 in Utah’s last 5 Wednesday games. The Over is 20-7 in Utah’s last 27 vs. the  Pacific. The Under is 5-2 in Utah’s last 7 overall.

The Under is 4-0 in the Lakers last 4 vs. the Northwest. The Under is 7-0 in the Lakers last 7 games playing on 2 days of rest. The Under is 4-0 in the Lakers last 4 overall. The Under is 7-2 in the Lakers last 9 Wednesday games. The Under is 5-2 in the Lakers last 7 playoff games as a favorite. The Over is 6-2 in the last 8 meetings in Los Angeles between the two teams.

Pick: Jazz +7 3units.. To many points here.