Posts Tagged ‘Utah Jazz’
Another week of the NBA betting season has come and gone, and Bang the Book takes a look at Who’s Hot & Who’s Not, brought to you by Sportsbook.com! ATS Power Poll 1: Milwaukee Bucks (38-21 ATS): The Bucks are arguably the hottest team in the NBA right now. Even though their six-game winning streak SU was stopped by the Hawks in overtime in Atlanta on Sunday, their successful ATS run moved to seven games with ease. Not only is Milwaukee back in the playoff picture, but it also shot up to the top spot in the NBA betting power poll as well after being off the radar for the majority of the season. 2: Utah Jazz (36-20-3 ATS): Utah may have leveled off quite a bit in recent weeks, alternating ATS wins and losses in its L/5, but it did post one of the more impressive wins of the week by crushing Houston 133-110 at home on Saturday. It’s not often that you see a team shoot 68% from the floor for an entire game. There’s more from this team coming later… 3: Oklahoma City Thunder (35-23 ATS): A four-game ATS slide finally stopped on Friday with a big win over Minnesota. A 119-99 victory over the Raptors two nights later pushed the streak to two games. F Kevin Durant’s streak of 25+ point performances might’ve stopped against San Antonio, but his Thunder are still a force to be reckoned with in the Western Conference. ATS Power Outage 1: Boston Celtics (21-35-1 ATS): Congrats, Boston. You successfully unseated the Nets for the worst ATS record in the NBA. Four straight losses ATS dropped the team to just 6-20-1 ATS in 27 games played at Boston Garden this season. The only good bits of news for this team are that the rest of the Atlantic Division is still playing terrible basketball as well, and F Paul Pierce is set to return to the lineup. 2: New Jersey Nets (22-36-1 ATS): The Nets showed a bit of a pulse on Saturday night when they beat the Celtics at Boston Garden. However, Jersey is still just a dismal 6-53 and is still on a reasonable clip to beat or match the 1972 Philadelphia 76ers NBA record for nine wins in a season. 3: Dallas Mavericks (25-34-1 ATS): If the Mavs keep playing like this, they’ll be off of this list in one more week’s time. This is a squad that looks dominant right now, winning seven straight and going 4-2-1 ATS in those seven. Dallas’ new look is going to make it a real contender in the Western Conference this year. The Good The Bad The Ugly
G Jason Kidd, Dallas Mavericks: Not bad when you can log a triple-double and make one of the headiest plays of the entire season on the same night. Kidd did just that by recording 19 points, 17 assists, and 16 boards against the Hawks, but perhaps his most important play came when he intentionally bumped into Atlanta HC Mike Goodson when he was on the court directing his defense. That’s interfering with the course of play, which warrants a technical foul. The Mavs tied the game and forced overtime, which they went on to win by eight points.
The Defense of the Houston Rockets: How many more weeks will the Rockets show up on the wrong side of this list before HC Rick Adelman finds himself in some serious hot water? Houston allowed the Jazz to score 133 points and shoot 68% from the floor in that romp previously mentioned. What made matters worse? Utah would’ve scored a heck of a lot more points if it had shot better than 57.7% from the free throw line…
Boston Celtics: The Nets? Really, Boston? How on earth you can find a way to lose to arguably the worst team in NBA history in front of your hometown faithful is mind-boggling. G Ray Allen shot just 3/11 from the field, but even though the C’s shot 50% from the field and outrebounded the Nets by six, a whopping 18 turnovers proved to be their undoing.
Tags: basketball betting, Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, Jason Kidd, Milwaukee Bucks, nba betting, New Jersey Nets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Utah Jazz
The NBA trade deadline shook things up in the basketball betting world quite a bit. Check out Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in the world of the NBA at Bang the Book, brought to you by Sportsbook.com! ATS Power Poll 1: Utah Jazz (34-18-3 ATS): The All-Star Break didn’t slow down the Jazz at all from the looks of it. Utah opened up the second half with four road games and took four victories both SU and ATS. That bumped its road record to 16-9-1 ATS on the season, and even though it’s not as strong as an 18-9-2 mark in Salt Lake City, the Jazz are proving that they are a force to be reckoned with on a nightly basis and are a can’t miss team for your NBA picks. 2: Oklahoma City Thunder (33-21 ATS): Ho hum. Three more 25+ point games for F Kevin Durant. Even though the Texas product is doing nothing but boosting his case to be the league’s MVP and the Thunder continue to find ways to win games (they’re at nine in a row right now), they ran into problems covering numbers at New York and Minnesota this week. Oklahoma City’s bettors hope that that ends this week with a tough stretch of games against Phoenix and San Antonio. 3: Atlanta Hawks (33-21 ATS): Atlanta’s quest to run down the Magic for the lead in the Southeast Division took a turn for the worse this week with a pair of road losses. The good news for the Hawks is that they’re coming home for three straight soon, where they are 18-9 ATS on the season. The bad news is that they have to stop in Utah first. ATS Power Outage 1: New Jersey Nets (21-34-1 ATS): The Nets got their monthly victory last week when they took it to Charlotte as hefty underdogs, but they followed that up by getting progressively worse over the course of the week. Losses to Miami, Toronto, and Memphis at home dropped Jersey to just 10-17 ATS at home on the year. 2: Boston Celtics (21-32-1 ATS): Boston is still a level .500 team on the road this year against the NBA betting lines, but taking three out of four SU on this West Coast swing really had to help the Celtics’ cause. These next three home games are crucial. Trips to New York and New Jersey will be inexcusable, but that showdown in the middle with Cleveland may prove to this team one way or the other if it can really ball with the big boys in the East. 3: Dallas Mavericks (23-33 ATS): Once the Mavs start to gel a little bit more, they’ll be in fine shape. But for now, they’re still not consistent enough to back on a regular basis. That 95-85 win in Orlando was awfully impressive though, and it’s probably a sign of what the rest of the teams in the Western Conference can expect to see down the line from the boys from “Big D.” The Good The Bad The Ugly
Washington Wizards: That’s right. We said it. The Wizards are “The Good” this week! Their front office doesn’t get a thumbs up for dealing away their entire team (F Antawn Jamison to Cleveland and F Caron Butler to Dallas), but the pieces to the puzzle that have come together in our nation’s capitol are fighting hard to prove that they belong at this level. Since February 5th, Washington is a solid 3-2 SU and 5-0 ATS. F Andray Blatche has been on fire, scoring an average of 25.0 PPG in his L/3.
The New-Look Houston Rockets: HC Rick Adelman had better hope that these L/2 games are nothing more than a bump in the road for his Rockets, or he’ll be on the unemployment line here really soon. After acquiring both G Kevin Martin and F Jared Jeffries in a deal that really didn’t cost much of anything for the time being, Houston has laid two major eggs, getting dumped by eight at New Orleans and by ten at home to Indiana. The next four teams on the slate are all playoff squads… which means by the time next week is over, Houston may be playing for nothing but ping-pong balls.
The Front Office of the Phoenix Suns: How on earth do you successfully anger your superstar by telling him that you’re going to trade him, and then turn around and not actually figure out how to do it? Now that the Suns ultimately couldn’t pull the trigger on an F Amare Stoudemire deal, they’re stuck with him for the rest of the season, knowing that he’s declaring free agency right when it’s over. For the brass of this team, they’d better hope that Phoenix hangs on to its playoff spot, or heads are inevitably going to roll.
Tags: Amare Stoudemire, Andray Blatche, Atlanta Hawks, basketball betting, Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, Jared Jeffries, Kevin Martin, nba betting, NBA Picks, New Jersey Nets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards
It was a short week for the NBA betting world, but in spite of that fact, there was still plenty of ups and downs to talk about. Check out Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in the world of the NBA at Bang the Book, brought to you by Sportsbook.com! ATS Power Poll 1: Atlanta Hawks (32-19 ATS): We won’t fault the Hawks for coming up well short against the Heat in the final game before the All-Star Break because of their injuries. A 108-94 victory in Memphis back on Tuesday was key for some self-confidence, especially considering that the first four off of the break are all on the West Coast. 2: Oklahoma City Thunder (32-19 ATS): You’ve been Thunder Struck! Oklahoma City went into the hiatus on a high, winning six straight SU and five of those six ATS. Three huge wins on the road against Western Conference rivals were all clutch to say the least, and with a relatively easy schedule starting on Tuesday night, the Thunder could be in the playoff picture to stay. 3: Utah Jazz (30-18-3 ATS): The Jazz had their opponents singing the blues until the Lakers clipped them 96-81 at home in their final game prior to the season’s intermission. Whereas Utah is 18-9-2 ATS at home, its 12-9-1 mark against the basketball betting lines isn’t quite as strong. The first four next week are all on the road. ATS Power Outage 1: New Jersey Nets (19-32-1 ATS): It’s never good when the turnstiles at your games only read 1,016. That’s what happened to the Nets right before the All-Star Break. One would figure that a chance to see history can’t be missed. After all, how many times in your life will you get to feast your eyes on a team that may not reach five wins on the season? Oh that’s right. Who wants to see the home team get blasted by 20 points on their home court? 2: Boston Celtics (19-30-1 ATS): The break came just at the right time for Celtics bettors, who had to be losing faith in their squad after dropping four straight ATS decisions in a row. The good news for Boston is that it is 13-13 ATS on the road this year, which is where the first four will be next week. At least that may build some momentum before coming back to the Garden on February 23rd. 3: Dallas Mavericks (21-31 ATS): Now that the Mavericks have made a move that has totally changed the face of their team, they’re going to be a tough squad to make NBA picks on. F Caron Butler is certainly going to add some scoring flare, but there’s got to be a question about how well this team will mesh. Things couldn’t get much worse from a bettors standpoint, though. Dallas had failed to cover seven of its L/8. The Good The Bad The Ugly
F LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers: It’s hard to say that LeBron is simply “The Good,” because with the way that he has been playing lately, he’s simply, “The Best.” It was just another week of back-to-back 32-point games for King James, and that came on the heels of a mere 47-point effort against the Knicks and a 36-pointer vs. Miami. Simply put: There isn’t a man that you’d rather have on your NBA team right now than LeBron James.
The Bigs for the Los Angeles Clippers: Ok, I know that it’s hard for you to even find G Stephen Curry on the court considering that he’s only 6′3″ and looks like he is about 120 lbs sopping wet, but how are all ten eyes on the court not on a guy who ends up going for 32 points, ten boards, and 13 assists in the same game? F Rasual Butler and C Chris Kaman were outrebounded by Curry 10-8 on the night. Not good, Clips. Not good at all.
Houston Rockets: Being short-handed may be a good excuse for some teams, but for the Rockets on Tuesday night, there were just no excuses. Houston only scored 66 points in an embarrassing 33-point loss in South Beach against the Heat. G Dwyane Wade’s pedestrian 17 points was more than the Rockets scored in three of the four quarters of action.
Tags: Atlanta Hawks, basketball betting, Boston Celtics, Caron Butler, Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, Dwyane Wade, Houston Rockets, lebron james, Los Angeles Clippers, Miami Heat, nba betting, NBA Picks, New Jersey Nets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Stephen Curry, Utah Jazz
Another week of NBA betting action is in the books, and Bang the Book takes a look at the hot and the not from the week that was, sponsored by Sportsbook.com! ATS Power Poll ATS Power Outage The Good
1: Atlanta Hawks (31-18 ATS): The Hawks just can’t get over the hump and hop past the Orlando Magic for the lead in the Southeast Division. A brief three-game ATS slide was ended on Friday with a 91-81 win over the Bulls. It was the best defensive effort for Atlanta since December 5th.
2: Utah Jazz (29-17-3 ATS): The Jazz parlayed a stretch of seven games of which six were at home into a 5-1-1 ATS run. Utah has won eight straight basketball betting battles outright, and they’re snapping right at the heels of the Nuggets for the top spot in the Northwest Division.
3: Oklahoma City Thunder (31-19 ATS): Is the MVP of the entire NBA really on the Thunder? F Kevin Durant certainly has a great gripe as we trickle towards the All-Star Break. He’s averaging 29.7 points per game and has scored at least 28 points in every game that he has played since January 9th. OKC has covered three straight and six out of eight.
1: New Jersey Nets (18-31-1 ATS): It was a rare good week for the Nets, who have gone 2-0-1 ATS in their L/3 games overall. Of course, Jersey only has one win SU since January 2nd and two wins SU since December 8th. One would say that this is a team that should be trading everyone at the deadline, but is there any other team in the league that really wants anyone on a team that is 4-46?
2: Washington Wizards (18-29-2 ATS): For whatever reason, the Wizards seem to have Orlando’s number. They’ve taken two SU victories as dogs against the Magic this year, including Friday’s buzzer-beating win at Amway Arena. Of course, aside from that, Washington is only 1-6 ATS since January 20th.
3: Boston Celtics (19-29-1 ATS): The Celtics are really killing their NBA wagering fans right now. They’re just 9-12 SU and 5-15-1 ATS in their L/21 games, and if they’re not careful, the Raptors may run them down in the Atlantic Division. Getting outscored 36-11 in the third quarter of the Orlando game on Sunday wasn’t exactly something to be proud of either.
The role players for the Los Angeles Lakers: In order to win a championship, it takes the effort of a lot more than just a superstar. On Saturday night, G Kobe Bryant missed the Lakers’ game against Portland. C Andrew Bynum was banged up just a few minutes into the game. But without those two, LA didn’t just survive; it dominated. Everyone played their role. G Ron Artest scored 21 points, F Lamar Odom pulled down 22 rebounds, a G Shannon Brown scored 19 off of the bench. The end result was a 99-82 road win, which may have been one of the more significant victories of the season.
The Bad
F Tayshaun Prince, Detroit Pistons: Remember when Prince was considered one of the best role players in the NBA? He always did a little bit of everything and managed to put up solid numbers. But this week, he only scored four points in 25 minutes against New Jersey and shot 2/12 from the floor in a 107-83 loss to Indiana.
The Ugly
Golden State Warriors: This eight-game losing streak has been particularly awful for the Warriors. In the L/6, they’ve allowed 114.8 points per game. Things may be getting uglier any day now, as there have been rumors of dealing G Monta Ellis are picking up. Ellis is scoring 26.2 points per game for Golden State, but it’s pretty clear that all he’s doing is stunting the growth of G Stephen Curry. Things are just ugly right now in Golden State and probably aren’t getting any better any time in the near future.
Tags: Atlanta Hawks, basketball betting, Boston Celtics, Golden State Warriors, Kevin Durant, Lamar Odom, Los Angeles lakers, nba betting, New Jersey Nets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Ron Artest, Shannon Brown, Tayshun Prince, Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards
Another week of NBA betting action is in the books, and Bang the Book takes a look at the hot and the not from the week that was, sponsored by Sportsbook.com! ATS Power Poll ATS Power Outage The Good
1: Atlanta Hawks (30-16 ATS): Atlanta continues to pester Orlando for the lead in the Southeast Division, but its more important triumph of the week came against the Celtics. The Hawks swept the season series against the C’s and gave themselves a bit of a cushion over Boston in the event that they do win the division.
2: Oklahoma City Thunder (28-18-1 ATS): NBA gambling fans wouldn’t know that the Thunder went on a three-game losing skid over the L/2 weeks. They’ve stormed to a smoking hot 6-2-1 ATS mark in their L/9 games. Thank F Kevin Durant for Oklahoma City’s strong play. He’s posted at least 28 points in 12 straight games and hasn’t had a night in which he scored less than 25 since December 19th.
3: Utah Jazz (27-17-2 ATS): The Jazz are certainly the hottest team in the basketball wagering world right now, as they have won five straight and nine out of ten SU and are 8-1-1 ATS in that stretch as well. Just a few weeks ago, Utah was on the outside of the playoff picture. Now it is all the way up to #4 in the conference and is inching closer to the Nuggets for the lead in the Northwest.
1: New Jersey Nets (16-30 ATS): Is it a good thing that the Nets have covered three straight things or a bad thing that they’re still the worst ATS team in the game? The countdown is on. ‘72 Sixers, here we come!
2: Washington Wizards (17-27-2 ATS): Contrary to popular belief, the Wizards actually had a two-game winning streak in them again. On Monday, they’ll inevitably return to your regularly scheduled ineptness, as they’ll play host to the Celtics. Before beating the Knicks 106-96 on Saturday, Washington had failed to cover four straight.
3: Boston Celtics (18-26-1 ATS): What are the mighty Celtics doing on this list, might you ask? Maybe a very mediocre 13-8 record at Boston Garden has a little something to do about it. Even worse is their 6-14-1 ATS record at home, a stat that may get a lot worse with three home games in the upcoming week.
F Chris Bosh, Toronto Raptors: Even though Bosh could be traded from Toronto at any moment, he’s sure giving the Raptors everything that he can while he can. He went for 26 points and 15 boards against Indiana on Sunday, marking his fifth straight double-double. In that stretch, Dinos are 5-0 SU and ATS, and Bosh has averaged 24.2 points and 15.2 rebounds per game.
The Bad
New York Knicks: How bad do you have to be to lose to both the Nets and T’Wolves in the same season? New York became just the second team in the NBA to pull off the feat when they were knocked off 112-91 in Minnesota on Sunday night. However, the first team to pull the accomplishment was the…
The Ugly
Los Angeles Clippers: Sometimes, you just have to try to play as poorly as the Clippers did this week. If we’re featuring “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” right now, LA was playing, “The Bad, The Worse, and The Disgraceful” this week. They started by losing at Minnesota by 16, followed that up by dropping to New Jersey by two touchdowns, and finished it all on Sunday by allowing 46 points in the first quarter against the Cavs.
Tags: Atlanta Hawks, basketball betting, Boston Celtics, Chris Bosh, Kevin Durant, Los Angeles Clippers, nba betting, New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards
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
NBA Betting Preview SBG Global Opening Line: Jazz - 7 , Total 206 The Utah Jazz will look to complete a perfect homestand with a win on Monday night against the Atlanta Hawks. Utah could be in for a little bit of a letdown on Monday considering they are coming off a very emotional win on Saturday night against New Orleans. The Jazz defeated the Hornets 102-88 in the first game since owner Larry Miller died. “It’s great to win on a night like this. We wanted to win for Larry and the whole Miller family,” Deron Williams said. “They’re going through a tough time and hopefully this can ease their pain just a little bit for one night.” Utah has won eight of the last 10 games overall and Williams has surged along with the team. He has averaged 27.4 points and 10.2 assists in his last nine games. SBG Global reports that early NBA betting has the public taking Jazz at Home. Atlanta is 2-2 on their six-game road trip after losing 108-98 to Portland on Friday. Joe Johnson did not shoot the ball well and the Hawks really couldn’t stay in the game late. “They made a run in the second half and it really put them over the hump,” Johnson said. “We just couldn’t recover from it.” The Jazz have won their last 14 home games against the Hawks. Here are more NBA betting stats for Monday’s game. The Hawks are 13-6 ATS in their last 19 games as an underdog. The Hawks are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 vs. the Western Conference. The Hawks are 1-5 ATS in the last 6 meetings in Utah. The Jazz are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games overall. The Jazz are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games as a favorite. The Jazz are 15-3 ATS in their last 18 Monday games. The Jazz are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 vs. the Southeast. The favorite is 10-2 ATS in the last 12 meetings between the two teams. The under is 7-3 in the last 10 meetings. SBG Global Current Line: Jazz - 7 , Total 206 The Over is 5-2 in the Hawks last 7 overall. The Under is 11-5 in the Hawks last 16 vs. the Western Conference. The Over is 4-0 in Utah’s last 4 Monday games. The Over is 9-4 in Utah’s last 13 games as a home favorite. The Over is 17-8 in Utah’s last 25 overall. The Under is 5-0 in the last 5 meetings in Utah between the two teams. Pick: Jazz
Atlanta Hawks (32-23) at Utah Jazz (33-23)
Monday, 9:05 pm Eastern
Tags: Atlanta Hawks, nba, sports, Utah Jazz
NBA Playoff Betting Preview SBG Global Opening Line: Jazz – 4 , Total 211.5 The Utah Jazz will look to use the NBA’s best home court edge to even their best of seven series against the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday. The Lakers won 111-104 on Wednesday and could clinch if they can win at Utah. The Jazz had a good chance to win Game Five at Los Angeles but let their chance slip away and now must win on Friday to force a Game Seven. “If we lose, we go home,” Utah forward Matt Harpring said. “We certainly don’t want to lose on our home court the last game of the year. No way.” The Lakers are hurting a little bit entering Friday’s game. Kobe Bryant is nursing a sore back while other starters are banged up. Bryant and three other starters sat out Thursday’s practice. The Lakers would like to win on Friday and give Kobe some extra rest. “The message is being under control. It’s about execution at this point. It’s about winning the game,” Lakers’ head coach Phil Jackson said. “There’s a lot of intensity. We probably have to play 10 points better than we did last night (Wednesday) to win it.” Kobe led the Lakers on Wednesday with 26 points, seven assists and six rebounds. “Incredible, as always,” Lamar Odom said. “Kobe made plays for us when he needed to.” The Jazz had a number of excellent chances to win Wednesday’s game but couldn’t control rebounds and that cost them the game. “You watch the tape of the game, you wish you could jump in the screen and play it all over again,” said Utah’s Carlos Boozer, “I thought we had the opportunity to take the lead a few times, and looking back on it, it’s definitely frustrating. You put the pressure on the home team if you get the lead.” SBG Global Current Line: Jazz – 2, Total 213 About the only positive for the Jazz was that the game gave them confidence that they could win a Game 7 in Los Angeles. To force that game the Jazz must win on Friday night. “We’ve got two left with them,” Boozer said. “We’ve got to win tomorrow night to have the second one.” The Jazz are 1-1 when hosting a Game 6 and trailing 3-2 in the series over the past decade. The loss was in the 1998 NBA Finals when Michael Jordan hit one of his most memorable shots in his career to eliminate the Jazz. “I think it’s exciting myself. I always have loved to be in those situations. If you like to play, what better position could you be in?” Utah head coach Jerry Sloan said. “They have to come and beat us, and we hope we don’t beat ourselves.” The Jazz are getting excellent play in the series from point guard Deron Williams. He is averaging almost 23 points and 11 assists in this series. He had 27 points and 10 assists on Wednesday and was the best player for the Jazz. Here are the NBA betting stats for Friday’s game. The Lakers are 7-1-1 ATS in their last 9 games as a road underdog. The Lakers are 4-1-1 ATS in their last 6 games playing on 1 day of rest. The Lakers are 8-2-1 ATS in their last 11 games overall. The Lakers are 6-2-1 ATS in their last 9 Conference Semifinals games. The Lakers are 21-8-2 ATS in their last 31 games as an underdog. The Lakers are 35-17-2 ATS in their last 54 road games. The Lakers are 1-4-1 ATS in their last 6 Friday games. The Lakers are 3-7-1 ATS in the last 11 meetings in Utah. The Jazz are 5-0-1 ATS in their last 6 Friday games. The Jazz are 7-2-2 ATS in their last 11 playoff games as a favorite. The Jazz are 38-13-2 ATS in their last 53 games as a home favorite. The Jazz are 39-15-2 ATS in their last 56 home games. The Jazz are 12-5-1 ATS in their last 18 games playing on 1 day of rest. The home team is 10-3-1 ATS in the last 14 meetings between the two teams. The Under is 4-0 in the Lakers last 4 games as a road underdog. The Over is 10-4 in the Lakers last 14 Friday games. The Under is 4-1 in Utah’s last 5 games playing on 1 day of rest. The Over is 23-8 in Utah’s last 31 vs. the Pacific. The Over is 13-6 in the last 19 meetings between the two teams. Pick: There is no other way to go then to take the home team! Jazz 4 units. Home teams are 20-1 this year, with the lone loss coming from Magic.
Los Angeles Lakers at Utah Jazz (Lakers lead 3-2)
Friday, 10:35 pm Eastern – ESPN
SBG Global reports that early NBA betting has the public taking Lakers on the Road.
Tags: basketball, betting, gambling, kobe bryant, Los Angeles lakers, Los Angeles Lakers at Utah Jazz, nba, sports, Utah Jazz
NBA Playoff Betting Preview SBG Global Opening Line: Lakers – 8.5, Total 214 The Los Angeles Lakers have hit a roadblock in their quest to reach the NBA finals as the Utah Jazz decided it won’t be a cakewalk for the Lakers. Utah won both of their home games to even the best of seven series at two games each. They now head to Los Angeles to face a Lakers team that may not have league MVP Kobe Bryant at full strength. He injured his back in Game Four and was still sore. “Quite a bit (of pain), but it’s a lot better than it was yesterday,” Bryant said, “It’ll be fine.” Kobe had 33 points in the Game Five overtime loss. SBG Global reports that early NBA betting has the public taking Jazz on the Road. The Lakers head home where they have owned the Jazz in the past. “We know we have homecourt advantage. We earned it,” Los Angeles head coach Phil Jackson said. “We feel very confident in our building.” Los Angeles is 16-3 at home against the Jazz since Staples Center opened in 1999. “To win the series, we have to win on the road,” Utah’s Matt Harpring said, “So we haven’t gotten anywhere yet. The series is basically 0-0 and now it’s the best two-out-of-three.” Teams in the 2008 NBA playoffs just haven’t been able to win on the road. Entering Tuesday night the home teams were 15-1 in the playoffs. The Jazz know they must win a game on the road and they want it to be on Wednesday. They know they can’t start out slow and expect to recover. “This is a big game. It’s a momentum game and it puts a lot of pressure on whoever doesn’t win,” Utah’s Deron Williams said. “You can always expect a couple guys to be the same at home and away. I think I have to be one of those guys. You’ve got to be maybe even more aggressive on the road and try to pick up some of the slack. That’s what I’m trying to do.” SBG Global Current Line: Lakers – 8.5, Total 213.5 Here are the NBA betting stats for Wednesday’s game. The Jazz are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 playoff games as an underdog. The Jazz are 2-5-1 ATS in their last 8 games overall. The Jazz are 0-6 ATS in the last 6 meetings in Los Angeles The Lakers are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 games as a home favorite. The Lakers are 8-1-1 ATS in their last 10 games overall. The Lakers are 6-1-1 ATS in their last 8 Conference Semifinals games. The home team is 6-1-1 ATS in the last 8 meetings between the two teams. The Over is 4-0 in Utah’s last 4 Wednesday games. The Under is 4-1 in Utah’s last 5 games as a road underdog. The Over is 22-8 in Utah’s last 30 vs. the Pacific. The Under is 5-2 in the Lakers last 7 overall. The Under is 7-3 in the Lakers last 10 Wednesday games. The Over is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings in Los Angeles between the two teams. Pick: Jazz +8.5 4units – Kobe is banged up without him 100% the Jazz will keep it close!
Utah Jazz at Los Angeles Lakers (Series tied 2-2)
Wednesday, 10:35 pm Eastern – TNT
Tags: basketball, gambling, kobe bryant, Los Angeles lakers, nba, nba betting, sports, sports betting, Utah Jazz
NBA Playoff Betting Preview 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.
Utah Jazz at Los Angeles Lakers
Wednesday, 10:35 pm Eastern – TNT
Tags: basketball, betting, gambling, jazz, lakers, Los Angeles lakers, nba, nba playoffs, sports, Utah Jazz
