Big Boys try to flex NBA muscles

Cleveland and the Los Angeles Lakers earned the top seeds in their respective conferences this season. One team has played deserving of that honor, the other, not so much. Both will hit the hardwood with the same goal in mind, thrusting their will on opponent to either finish them off or to gain the upper hand.

Lake Show in trouble of being cancelled

The Lakers players were telling anyone that would listen their late season doldrums were nothing to be concerned with, once the playoffs began it would be “go” time and they would take care of business.

Oddsmakers weren’t fooled and neither was the public. Los Angeles has a team of mostly self-satisfied players this year, not willing to do what it takes to be great and their visible weakness cannot be masked without all-out effort.

On the season the Lakers shot 45.6 percent from the field, they have not touched that figure once in the playoffs. Oklahoma City is receiving a great of credit for how they are playing defense against the triangle offense, but the fact is the Lakers players are being outworked in trying to run their offense and if say Lamar Odom doesn’t get open on the first option for him to receive the ball, he essentially takes himself out of the play or settles for three-point which is not his specialty.

Odom isn’t the only player with this general indifference, there are many others. It is of little surprise L.A. is 13-25 ATS second half of the season watching this kind of effort.

Kobe Bryant is playing a curious role in this series. Undoubtedly he is more injured that what most know. Other than Game 2 when he scored 39 points with his father in the stands, he at times is not even looking to being offensively assertive and is either trying to get the ball to teammates for them to become more aggressive or he is trying to prove a point by saying “you are either with me or against me” and is disgusted with their lack of performance and is being indignant.

When this has happened in the past Kobe always has an answer, just like this time.

“(Oklahoma City) is a young team that plays hard, that’s playing with house money, so they go in there and let it all hang out,” Bryant said. “It’s a series, it’s a challenge. It’s how playoff basketball should be.” We’ll see he and the Lakers really feel about their situation and are 13-3 ATS after a loss by 15 points or more.

Oddsmakers have the Lakers as six-point home favorites with total of 193.5. Los Angeles has won 17 straight games when the series is tied at 2-2 and are 17-5 ATS when tied in a playoff series at any juncture. The Thunder will try to use its growing confidence to pull the upset and have spotted the flaws in Los Angeles and will look to attack once again and are 19-9 ATS as a road underdog this season, losing by less than a point a game (0.9).

This is the late 10:30E conflict on TNT and the Lakers are 11-0 UNDER as a home favorite of 3.5 to 6 points over the last two seasons.

The end is near

The confidence which the Cleveland Cavaliers play with is flabbergasting. For three quarters of Game 3, Chicago took the action to Cleveland, holding a double digit lead most of the time. The Bulls were the aggressor and it appeared Cavs players were satisfied with their less than full effort. In the four quarter the Cavs came storming back with LeBron James taking over the offense and his teammates knocking down three-pointers, finally succumbing by just two points 108-106, as Chicago made their free throws late.

The most stunning aspect of the close of that contest was the reaction of James and his teammates, not long faces from losing a game they should have won by playing all 48 minutes, but they were smiling, with a almost maniacal grin of “Oh man, we almost got’em, we’ll take care of this later”.

There were no smiles before Game 4 as King James led a tyrant army of mercenaries into the United Center and blew away their Windy City counterparts by 22. Cleveland returns home to end the series and is 18-6 ATS after a blowout win by 20 points or more.

Cleveland is starting to reap the rewards for trading for Antawn Jamison, who scored 24 points in Game 2. Jamison is highly respected around the league and didn’t come to Cleveland to improve his legacy, but rather to get a championship ring. At 33, Jamison is sensing his basketball mortality.

“This is an opportunity of a lifetime,” he said. “I don’t have another five or 10 years left in this body. The sense of urgency is there, not only with myself but with the rest of these guys. That’s why I think it’s a great fit because we all have the same mentality. We are all trying to accomplish the same thing—right now. We’re not trying to wait until next year or the year after that.” The Cavs have covered 42 of their previous 66 playoff games.

Chicago is also sensing their mortality, about this season. Star guard Derrick Rose missed practice Monday to undergo an MRI on his right ankle and forward Luol Deng sat out with a sore knee and calf. The Bulls are once again a dozen points underdog and hope to hit enough shots to improve on 19-10 ATS record revenging a same season loss.

The Cavaliers will look to polish this series off and most likely face Boston and are 17-7 UNDER after winning by 20 or more points, with average margin of victory 13.9 points for this 8:00E TNT broadcast.