Rugged choices for bettors in pair of Game 6’s

The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers proved their mettle in Game 5’s in different ways. Boston showed the true heart of a champion in overcoming 14-point deficit to oust Orlando 92-88. The Lakers on the other hand reeked with determination and easily buried an out-classed and undermanned Houston club. What will Game 6 provide, lets take a look inside.

The Orlando Magic is quickly becoming the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals of playoff basketball. The ‘Stros and Nats lead the majors in blown saves with 10 and the Magic keep coming up more empty than a group of guys leaving Hooters on Church Street in downtown Orlando at closing.

It is evident Orlando is the better team without Kevin Garnett playing for Boston, yet this Celtics team keeps fighting, clawing and scratching to win, which is a testament to the players and coach Doc Rivers. The Celtics are a team Al Davis would love, “Just win baby” and they manage to just so as compared to the Raiders. Boston makes one more trip South and is 8-2-1 ATS on the road.

Dwight Howard was right and wrong to call out his coach Stan Van Gundy about touches in the fourth quarter. He was wrong in the sense you don’t do that after losing a game you clearly had in the bag and let escape, down 3-2 in postseason. He is right that this has been a continual pattern for Orlando in the playoffs, blowing big leads, sometimes winning and sometimes not.

Looking into the issue deeper, here is what is uncovered. If Howard, aka “Superman” is such a dynamic offensive threat, why don’t his own players trust him in the last five minutes of the game? NBA players might not be the sharpest lot off the court, but they understand the game. Are Orlando players too concerned that Howard will make a turnover with the ball at crunch time? Does Howard really work to get the ball, spreading himself out to demand it? Finally, some believe Howard in the best center in the NBA right now, which by my calculations in similar to being heavyweight boxing champion, doesn’t mean much.

Let’s not forget, Howard is a rebounding and dunking machine, but his post moves couldn’t fill a Dunkin Donuts Yahoo sports minute.

Oddsmakers at Diamond Sportsbook.com see an angry Orlando club looking to square the series at 3-3 and have made them the largest favorite of the series at seven-points, with total of 190. The Magic are 12-4 ATS off a road loss this season and are 7-1 UNDER off a spread loss.

Van Gundy received deserved criticism for playing J.J. Redick 29 minutes in Game 5, especially when he had only one basket.

Boston is 17-4 ATS after a win by six points or less this season and is 14-6 UNDER after consecutive wins. The C’s don’t win last contest without Stephon Marbury, can he deliver again?

The L.A. Lakers finally showed why they are best wager to win the NBA title. The Los Angeles Zen Master would never sink to such low depths of using simple math to motivate his team, but the Lakers are NBA champions if they understand 12 x 4 = 48.

Los Angeles showed they are capable of playing all 48 minutes, though in Game 5 they really didn’t need to. They shot over 51 percent, manufactured countless steals and actually showed toughness with Lamar Odom battling through bad back to play 19 minutes.

The Lakers are 31-14 (24-20-1 ATS) as visitors and if they come to play, should win this contest to close out series. It is all about steely resolve and Phil Jackson’s Lakers’ teams are 11-1 ATS in road games after leading in their previous game by 20 or more points at the half.

Houston is on the receiving end of nine-points with total of 197. The Rockets have no chance to win if they can’t contain Lakers and not let them sniff the century mark. Houston is 15-4 ATS revenging a loss where team scored less than 85 points and it comes as no surprise the average total score in those contests is 186.9. Rick Adelman’s club is 13-4 UNDER after allowing 105 points or more this season, but that included the big man in the middle.

The coverage turns over to ESPN on Thursday starting at 7 Eastern and the series leaders either closeout or head back home for Game 7 finale.