NBA Finals Thoughts

The Los Angeles Lakers are the kings of the NBA for the 11th time in L.A. and the 16th time in franchise history. When it is all said and done, that’s all that matters, but my goodness, we as fans had to sit and watch this less than epic Game 7.

In retrospect, given the choice between watching the Celtics and Lakers deciding contest and giving my dog peanut butter to lick from his mouth for roughly three hours, the latter at the very least had comedic possibilities.

There was no question both teams were putting in a great deal of defensive effort, how else would you explain 98 missed shots out of 154 taken? (Let’s not forget the 12 uncontested missed free throws the team from L.A. clanged off the rim)

However, it wasn’t all great defense. It was easy enough to spot the difference.

Wide open shots were careening off the rim like the basketballs were filled with helium. Yes, many shot attempts were certainly highly contested, yet if you witnessed the footwork of the players launching these wayward heaves, even when they created space being guarded by a single player, they were typically off-balance, leaning one direction while shooting the orange.
The best way to describe it for football fans, it was the equivalent of a quarterback having happy feet in the pocket after facing a relentless pass rush.

ABC/ESPN analyst and former NBA coach Jeff Van Gundy went to the line, but did not cross it giving out his true feelings about what we was being paid to watch and describe.

Van Gundy notes about halfway thru the fourth quarter, this was some of the worst offensive basketball he could remember seeing in a game of this magnitude. He realized what he just said honestly as coach and reverted back to being an announcer, adding that indeed the defense was also very good, contributing to the poor execution.

If Van Gundy was given truth serum or an adult beverage or two, my bet would be he thought the players were in full C-word mode. Even Kobe Bryant touched on the subject in the post game news conference. “Tonight it got the best of me,” Bryant said immediately after the game after 6-24 shooting performance.

“Sometimes you want something so bad it slips away from you.”

You know how Betty White became a sensation again thanks to Facebook; already Bricklayers of America are petitioning on Facebook and Twitter both the Lakers and Celtics players be the keynote speakers at next convention based on their expertise.

In the end the Boston Celtics missed Kendrick Perkins or at least it seemed that way as they were clobbered on the boards 53-40, of which 23 were after a Lakers missed shot.

Though it felt like the C’s had the game well in hand at various points, the facts show they were outscored each of the final three quarters and the team that won the rebounding battle was 7-0 and 6-1 ATS in the series.

The game did supply NBA conspiracy theorists just what they wanted, the Lakers coming back to win the last two games at home in Game 7, once again you are correct. (At least in their own minds)

For NBA fans it’s on to the draft, while the rest of us put our noses back into studying baseball numbers to hopefully beat that sport on a daily basis.

NBA Finals Game 5 – Just Win Baby

Nothing official has come forward, but expect Paul Pierce has to be pleased going back to Los Angeles and he might even fly back with his teammates leading in the series. Say what you want about the Boston Celtics, this group is buoyant and tenacious, from the starters to the bench players and their coach might be a blast at a black jack table, hitting on 16 because he feels a five coming as next card.

If Glen Davis, Nate Robinson, Rasheed Wallace and Tony Allen sound like the makeup of an NBA expansion team, that belief would likely be correct. However, this group of bench jockey’s scored on the first nine possessions of the final stanza for the Celtics and largely cemented the game away against the Lakers regular starters.

Coach Doc Rivers took a gamble, not calculated, but heart-felt and emotional, that this contingent had just a bit more to give with over 240 seconds left in Game 4 and his team leading by nine points and waved back his starting subs back to the bench.

“Hell, Rondo and all of them were begging me to keep guys in. 'Don't take them out. Don't take them out,'" Rivers recalled. "It was great. That was the loudest I've seen our bench, and it was our starters cheering from the bench. I thought it was terrific."

This enabled the Celtics to tie the series and moved their record to 8-3 SU and ATS at TD Garden in the postseason with one more to go.

Boston could be gaining some advantages as the series is wearing on. Pierce was much more efficient in running off screen and roles, getting Ron Artest out of his face, scoring 19 points and handing out five assists.

The player formerly known as “Big Baby” has been a man, as Davis’ internal flame has him continually outhustling the Los Angeles big men and he found a way to not let his height be a detriment in the paint against the taller L.A. players in making seven of 10 shots and collecting five boards (four offensive).

Going from the speed and quickness of Rajon Rondo to Nate Robinson allows the Celtics to have accelerator to the floor like a NASCAR driver in a straight away if they choose for all 48 minutes.

The Lakers give the appearance of being in control, but cracks are formulating. Andrew Bynum knee not only limits him, but forces Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom to log more minutes against the more physical Boston frontline.

Though Kobe Bryant scored 33 points in last conflict, the Allen Gang (Tony and Ray) are making life difficult, as witnessed by his seven turnovers.

Bryant said, "They got all the energy points, the hustle points, the second-chance points ... "

" ... points in the paint, beat us to the loose balls," Bryant continued. "I mean, that's how the game turned around."

For the third time in this year’s playoffs, Los Angeles is 2-2 and they are 19-6 ATS when a series is tied and 18-6 ATS in road games having lost two of their last three tilts. The extra day off should help Bynum and the exhausted looking Lakers should be fresher.

Sportsbooks have Boston as 2.5-point home faves with total slipping to 187.5 after a pair of Under’s.

The Celtics are 8-2 ATS in last 10 NBA Finals’ affairs and 5-0 ATS with two days off. They are 6-0-1 UNDER in last seven home assignments.

The Lakers are still a potent 37-21 as an underdog, including 5-2 ATS in previous seven tries. Phil Jackson must devise ways to get better looks and increase the tempo since his club is 15-6 UNDER as a road underdog of six points or less this season, which has them being outscored 3.9 points per game when this happens.

ABC will have Game 5 at 8:00 Eastern and the team that snares the most rebounds in 4-0 SU and ATS in the Finals.

NBA Bettors looking for Heroes and Goats

Maybe Boston’s Paul Pierce will be right after all, the Celtics might not be going back to Los Angeles, just for all the wrong reasons. Boston was outhustled, outplayed and coughed up home court advantage quicker than a newborn baby. If you bet the Lakers to win the NBA championship, the odds are mostly certainly stacked in your favor.

After L.A. won the opening game, Phil Jackson’s imposing size and demeanor was appearing even larger with his team’s 47-0 record leading 1-0 in a series. After losing the second game at the star-studded Staples Center, the Lakers added one more to 18-6 ATS record when they are tied in a series and the team that wins the crucial third game of a NBA Finals best of seven is 28-4 to be crowned champs.

Lakers' Heroes

Think back, way back to opening L.A. and Oklahoma City series when Russell Westbrook of the Thunder was making Derek Fisher look older than Emmett Smith in the “Just for Men” commercials. Fisher overcame disastrous playoff start and has increasing become more a factor in each series. With Kobe Bryant not his usual self, Fisher took it upon himself to close-out the Celtics, scoring 11 of his 16 points in the final 12 minutes.

“He won the game for them,’’ said Boston coach Doc Rivers. “Derek Fisher was the difference in the game.’’

Another reason for why Los Angeles was able to emerge victorious at TD Garden and move to 37-20 ATS as underdogs was the continued appearance of Lamar Odom. After being saddled with five quick fouls the first two tilts, Odom scored 12 points on perfect 5-for-5 shooting and snaring five rebounds.

“I was able to get into a nice rhythm,’’ Odom said. “I stayed composed. I took what they gave me.’’

Celtics’ Goats

NBA coaches continually preach in the playoffs – The last game is the last game, put it behind you.

Ray Allen suffered that lesson the hard way and has to follow that advice moving forward. After unprecedented three-point shooting display in Los Angeles, Allen returned to Boston and put up an unlucky 13 shots, none that went thru the net. Fortunately, he missed being in the record books two games in a row, as Dennis Johnson, then with Seattle, was 0-14 in a NBA Finals game.

All of his shots looked flat,’’ Rivers said. “I don’t think he had any legs. Of his 13 shots, he had eight great looks. But all of his shots were short. And all of them were flat.’’ Allen’s inability to score left his team flat, as the Celtics fell to 18-29 ATS as a home favorite this season.

Pierce proved like the CEO of British Petroleum, talk is cheap and that actions speak louder than words. His 13 for 36 shooting in the Finals speaks volumes for Boston’s chances of winning this series.

Who’s thrown into the spotlight next?

Oddsmakers have the Celtics as 3.5-point favorites to comeback and even the series with total of 190. In order for this to occur Boston’s Big Three has to stay out of foul trouble (which could be difficult with the horrible officiating towards both teams) and be collectively productive. The C’s are 6-1 ATS after SU loss and Kendrick Perkins has to start putting in the same kind of effort Glen Davis is.

Pierce and teammates have to better execute and screen and rolls, because Ron Artest is in Pierce’s grill otherwise. Rajon Rondo was a non-factor starting halfway thru the second period, that can’t happen again. Though it seems opposite, Boston has played better at faster tempo in this series and is 17-7 OVER off an upset loss as a home favorite.

Andrew Bynum reinjured his ailing knee Tuesday and it would seem doubtful he will be much of a factor, thrusting Odom more prominently into the next contest. The Lakers are 8-4 ATS off a triumph and were somewhat fortunate Fisher was there to bail them out.

The good news is Bryant seldom has two games in a row this time of year where he isn’t clutch, but Tony Allen does give him fits. Gasol could use more than 11 shots like the last contest, but needs to work harder to demand the ball. His team is 9-1 UNDER after allowing 85 points or less this season.

ABC has Game 4 at 9:00 Eastern and the club that shoots the higher percentage is 7-1 and 6-1-1 ATS in previous eight meetings.

Game 3 moves to Boston for NBA Finals

Don’t you just love the drama of the NBA Finals, everything is overanalyzed, everyone is seeking a unique storyline and all the conjecture goes right to the top. One day the Lakers are invincible, the next they might not play another game this season in Los Angeles. Boston is in the same predicament as Doc Rivers noted. “We lose and were old, we win and we have veteran experience.”

The easiest aspect to lose sight of is this is a series, a best of seven. That alone usually means twists and turns, especially when it is The Finals.

No question Rajon Rondo has had a fantastic playoff series for Boston, but ESPN’s Colin Cowherd is calling him the third best player in the NBA, just behind Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. (His reasoning why ahead of Dwayne Wade is because he’s taken his team deeper in the playoffs, disregarding the talent difference between the two clubs.)

Face the facts, Boston has too much leadership and experience to go down like a Cleveland, they have players that will find a way to contribute, even if a part of their game is not working 100 percent perfectly.

The Celtics return home where they are 31-19 and 19-30-1 ATS this season (7-2 SU & ATS in the playoffs). While Boston fans and backers are psyched they can end the series at home, it’s extremely unlikely to happen. As noted, the Celtics are far from a sure thing or bet at home and the Bryant surly attitude after Sunday’s loss would suggest he will come with a vengeance, if the referee’s let both teams play.

Both games in the Finals have gone Over the total, however not based on level of skill shown, rather by referee’s enjoying the tweeting of their whistles and evidently TV time. As compared to the Stanley Cup Finals where penalties are down compared to the rest of the playoffs, the basketball fouls are coming faster than Twitter ‘tweets”.

As John Hollinger of ESPN.com points out, after two contests the numbers show an average of 56 fouls and 67 free throws compared to regular season average of 41.7 and 49.1 per game, respectively. Though playoff basketball tends to be slower and more physical and a few more fouls would be expected to be called since teams will not concede layups as often. Nonetheless, the fouls for a four quarter Finals confrontation are up over 20 percent compared to the rest of the postseason.

NBA fans are not turning on The Finals to see Bryant, Ray Allen and several other players on the bench with ticky-tacky fouls that are not even called during the regular season.

In spite of the defeat, the Phil Jackson and company can’t be totally depressed. It took the best deep shooting performance ever by Allen and a triple-double by Rondo to knock off the Lakers with Bryant and Lamar Odom glued to the bench with fouls for lengthy periods. Though it is earlier than a couple of the other series they’ve played, L.A. is 18-6 ATS when tied in a playoff series since 1996.

Boston will look to keep the pressure on with Rondo forcing the issue with the ball and feeding the C’s big guys in the paint, to keep Pau Gasol and others busy, opening up the mid-range jump shooting game the Celtics prefer.

Sportsbooks have Rivers club as 2.5-point favorites with total of 192.5. It will be worth watching how both teams react in the first half traveling across the country and playing a game of this magnitude less than 48 hours after completing the prior conflict and losing additional three hours for time zone shift.

The rest aspect could be important for sports betting purposes with Boston 7-2 ATS with one day between contests and the Lakers 5-14 ATS.

Los Angeles is 13-3 UNDER in road games revenging a straight up loss as a home favorite, while the home team for Game 3 is 7-3 UNDER as playoff favorite.

The starting time moves back to 9:00 Eastern, with the Celtics 4-2 and 4-1-1 ATS when the Lake Show makes an appearance in Bean-Town the last three years.

Lakers large and in charge

Have you noticed how calm the Lakers have been this postseason? Yes, they have lost four road games and been 2-2 in two different series, plus gave away a few fourth leads the caused spread losses for backers, but not once have Kobe Bryant and the rest of his teammates looked truly flustered and exasperated to the point where they appeared beatable in a series.

Game 1 was perfect example as Los Angeles was methodical in beating Boston. The Lakers were up by five after the first quarter, led by nine and the half and salted the contest away with 34-23 third stanza, building insurmountable 84-64 lead.

Phil Jackson’s club is 9-2 ATS after a playoff win this spring and are under control. After the Lakers ended the series against Phoenix in Game 6, the talk in the desert was the Suns lack of defensive intensity, as the Lake Show has 91 points after three quarters. Who would have ever guessed the defensive-minded Celtics would have permitted 84 points with 12 minutes still left to play?

It was shocking how little resistance Boston put up. Early today if you Googled the term “non-factor”, pictures of Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Kendrick Perkins and Kevin Garnett all appeared. Paul Pierce was the only Celtics player showing any game close to what Celtics would expect, but that was mostly in the final quarter when the outcome was already determined, as they fell to 6-19 ATS versus teams averaging 83 or more shots a game this year.

To borrow a little Dick Vitale speak, the Lakers were ‘windex-men” cleaning the glass, outrebounding Boston by 42-31. With Pau Gasol having eight offensive rebounds, you would have thought he had grown a foot.

When Doc Rivers was asked about the last time he remembered his team being so outclassed on the boards, he responded this way. “I don’t know if I recall one,” he said. “But I know if there was, we lost that game, too. I can guarantee you that.”

You don’t rebound; you don’t win. What’s true during the regular season holds even truer now.
“They killed us on the glass,” he said.

What can Boston do to plot an upset in Game 2? Of course they have to rebound better, which might entail sending more players to the glass on the defensive side and once the ball is secured, immediately find Rondo and let him fire up the jets to beat L.A. down the floor. Rondo has to show better judgment with the ball in his hands.

The Celtics staff has to find ways to rub Pierce off Ron Artest’s “krazy glue” defense. Garnett can’t be dominated by Gasol, he has to work harder for rebounds and make medium range jump shots to pull the big man from Spain away from the bucket.

The Lakers offense is especially fluid at the Staples Center, which suggests Perkins has to be more a factor on the offense end besides setting screens. Though his scoring skills are limited, Perkins has to defeat Andrew Bynum in the post and be fed the ball for dunks or layups. Rivers and his coaches usually make solid adjustments and are 9-1 ATS off a road loss by 10 points or more over the last two seasons.

Oddsmakers have L.A. as a six-point fave with total of 190.5 and they are 8-3 ATS after breaking the century mark. With two days between contests the Lakers are 12-4 UNDER this season. The Celtics will have to be much more assertive and are 22-10 ATS away from home after consecutive games with 19 or less assists. The last five times Boston has allowed 100 or more points, the next contest goes UNDER the number.

This matchup has earlier start time of 8:00 Eastern on ABC and this is an absolute must win for the team in green, as it appears very unlikely they would sweep three at home.

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Lakers vs Celtics - That say's it all

In the history of the NBA, two names stand above the rest, the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers. These two franchises have combined to win 32 NBA titles (the Lakers won five in Minneapolis). Boston has beaten the Lakers nine of 11 meetings in the NBA Finals which substantiates the point for many people of substance over style.

The Lakers like to make the argument that in spite of having a couple less titles than the Celtics, theirs is the better franchise having a bit of Jack Nicklaus in them (18 major’s titles, 17 second’s), finishing runner-up 16 times.

What makes this appointment television is history. For many of the players let alone those tuned in to watch, this matchup is about Larry Bird, Bill Russell, Magic Johnson and Jerry West. What made this important is they met one another over a short period of time. Boston defeated the Lakers seven times from 1959 to 1969 and they met three times in four years from 1984 to 1987.

That is what makes this renewal even better than two June’s ago. The last time basketball fans had a 21-year break between heated encounters; this time most of the combatants are the same that met two years prior. What is different this time compared to 2008 when the Celtics hung their first NBA championship banner since 1986?

Trust and Age

Though Ray Allen was having brutal postseason two years ago, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce in particular were at the top of their respective games. Each was able to dominate for lengthy periods of any contest and did in those six games.

Today, neither KG nor Pierce has that same ability; both can make a series of outstanding plays to help Boston, just in a shorter time span. The Celtics are helped by Allen being a much stronger contributor, but the driving force of this Doc Rivers club is Rajon Rondo. The former Kentucky product has exploded onto the scene in the playoffs and been the catalyst behind the Celtics success. The C’s now feed off what Rondo delivers.

Two years ago, Kobe did not trust his teammates. He demanded total effort in the biggest games and they did not deliver to his liking. Last year’s title drive was all about finishing the deal and becoming champions again and thou Bryant has his doubts from time to time about the 2010 edition of the Lake Show, he knows what to expect from Derek Fisher, Pau Gasol and to a lesser degree Lamar Odom and Ron Artest.

It’s all about the matchups

How does Boston limit Kobe’s effectiveness? Doc Rivers coach’s by feel more than X’s and O’s during games. Rivers will go after Bryant with Baskin-Robbins approach, using a variety of methods. Guard Kobe tight to force him to drive into lane where the Celtics big men can create issues. Let him shoot from the outside to prevent him from getting fouled too often and adding up points. They will double Kobe on the wings or single him up in the middle of the floor and go with what works best.

Derek Fisher took it as personal mission to stay with Steve Nash in West finals, but he has nowhere near enough foot speed to stay with Rondo. That means Bryant will see Rondo aplenty and if Boston wants to slow the pace, L.A. will be cool with that process, since Bryant can use his size and wing span to stay in front of Rondo. Expect coach Rivers to dictate to Rondo to run at every opportunity to maximize his effectiveness.

Pierce and Artest is a potential swing matchup in the series. Pierce’s jab step jumper is more deadly when he sets up defender by driving to the bucket. If he can make Artest indecisive about his intentions, he could frustrate Ron-Ron into drawing silly fouls and taking him mentally out of the game.

Artest has to knock down enough shots to keep Pierce honest on defense and prevent him from clogging driving lanes. Artest’s job on the other end of the floor is to limit Pierce’s scoring ability and work him so that his legs don’t give him the leverage he needs late in the game to make jumpers.

In the frontcourt, Boston will try and manhandle the Lakers bigs with their imposing strength using Kendrick Perkins, Glen Davis and Rasheed Wallace to roughhouse. Los Angeles should be accustomed to these tactics, expect Phil Jackson to try and manufacture matchups playing to the strengths of Gasol, Odom and Andrew Bynum in the triangle offense.

Coaching counts

In 2008, the Rivers vs. Jackson coaching matchup was thought to be akin to choosing between Snookie of “Jersey Shore” and Megan Fox. Rivers it turns out is the right coach for Boston, continually pushing his club to do better thru effort and precision and working game plans with mastermind assistant Tom Thibodeau.

Jackson was almost passive when his club lost to the Celtics in the finals two seasons ago, but has been much more involved the last two years, not sitting idly by wanting players to learn from adversity. He’s been more aggressive in substitution patterns and back to trying different bench players in various situations to find the spark when needed.

ATS nuts and bolts

Both teams were unreliable home teams wagers with the Lakers 42-7 and 21-27-2 ATS record and the Celtics 31-19 and 19-30-1 ATS. Given their ability and skill, each was a factor as visitors with Boston 31-18 (26-22-1 ATS) and L.A. 27-22 (22-26-1 ATS).

In the last three years the Celtics “Big Three” is 7-5 and 9-2 ATS against Los Angeles. The road team has won five games outright of the previous 13 meetings, however just one was in the finals in 2008.

You will read the home court is not a significant factor because of how the visitors have played lately, but if you are making series wager, the teams with home court advantage has won eight of last ten.

What happens?

Only once in the previous 25 years has seed other than No. 1-3 won the NBA championship and Boston was a four seed coming into the postseason. Eddie House and Leon Powe were significant players for the Celtics in the last finals meeting, both play elsewhere today.
Gasol and Bryant together are better players than previous finals confrontation and the Lakers are 44-0 in any series with Jackson as coach if they win Game 1.

This will be rugged, physical series, with the trophy staying in L.A.

3Daily Winners Pick- L.A. Lakers (-180) in seven over Boston (+150)

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Suns seek to avoid bring burned by Lakers

You have to give Ron-Ron credit, of the 10 players on the floor watching Kobe Bryant’s shot attempt to win another game, he was the only that realized it was going to land short of its destination, ran towards the ball, grabbed it and put in the basket to set off wild celebration by the ultra-cool movie and TV stars who realized this wasn’t scripted.

Ron Artest saved the day despite faulty vision, “I thought Kobe got fouled on the shot, so I figured it was going to be short,” Artest said. “And it was a little short.”

The series moves to its first elimination matchup and Phoenix made be down, but they certainly are not out.

As the new Philadelphia 76ers coach and analyst Doug Collins correctly pointed out, it felt like the Lakers were ahead by 15 points when they led by just eight midway thru the fourth quarter.

Coach Phil Jackson made a series of key adjustments before Game 5, running unbalanced overload against the Phoenix zone and running cutters weakside once the ball was passed into the lane area. The Suns tried a 1-3-1 changeup, but players and coaches at this level crave up a cheap gimmick like that in no time.

Lamar Odom returned to being aggressive and he and Derek Fisher drove thru the Phoenix zone like “CHIPS” with traffic stopped. All this led to a procession of layups and easy buckets.
Coach Alvin Gentry’s zone isn’t designed to disable the Los Angeles, rather to hopefully force up bad shot attempts along with normal misses. The Lakers will head to the sun drenched desert 13-4 ATS after two straight games committing 11 or less turnovers this season.

The final minutes of Game 5 spoke loudly about both teams. Phoenix was unwilling to quit, especially Steve Nash. The Lakers had taken away aspects of the Canadien’s ability to use the screen and roll effectively, by jumping big men at him and setting up “wall” with Derek Fisher going underneath. Upon his return in the final minutes, Nash took matters into his own hands by taking and making shots, which caused vacillation by the Lakers bigs and gave him just enough room to operate.

Overall Los Angeles may be taller, but lack the lateral quickness to rotate back if Nash goes into the Lakers forest of tall timber. L.A. also showed a common flaw of this team, similar to the one that cost them to lose to Boston in the finals two years ago, a killer instinct. Artest’s ridiculous three-point attempt and other less the precise offensive sets enabled the more determined team late in the contest to almost steal one.

The Suns are 11-3 ATS at home off a road loss and need a few elements to occur to force a Memorial Day matchup.

Amare Stoudemire needs another bust-out effort like Game 3. A total of 40+ points isn’t required, however that same type of aggressiveness and rebounding desire is. Phoenix is going to shoot three-pointers regardless, thus the number made isn’t as important as the percentage, which has to be above 30 percent.

Channing Frye and Jared Dudley have found a comfortable rhythm in the West Finals; however Leandro Barbosa and Goran Dragic cannot be outscored by Shannon Brown and Sasha Vujacic like they were in the last contest (7-5).

The Suns are 1.5-point pick and are 9-1 ATS at U.S. Airways Arena after a loss by six points or less. The last game saw the first total go below the number in the series and the home team fail to cover. The oddsmakers have adjusted the total downward to 216, nevertheless Los Angeles is 7-0 OVER in the purple uniforms after allowing 100 points or more in exactly two straight tilts and Phoenix is 15-5 OVER at Planet Orange versus good shooting teams making 46 or more of their shots since the midpoint of the season the previous two years.

Game Six has been moved up to 8:30 Eastern on TNT as the Lakers try to close out the series. They are away 17-6 ATS away from home having lost two of their last three games.

Lakers attempt to regain upper hand

What’s the old saying, “When mama’s not happy, nobody’s happy”. A form of that saying is taking place in the Los Angeles Lakers locker room, with Kobe Bryant taking the place of mama.

“We have to play with a sense of urgency,” Bryant said after his team lost in the desert for second time, “and understand this team can beat us.”

Kobe, when asked what was wrong, didn’t mince words and tersely stated his feelings. “We lost the game,” Bryant said, “because our defense sucked.

“Our focus was on the other side of the floor, which doesn’t win championships. So we need to get back to ground zero when it comes to that.”

That’s the conundrum with the 2009-10 Lakers squad, every good stretch of basketball means “Margaritaville” and the passion and intensity necessary dwindles with prosperity.

Bryant had 74 points, 21 assists and 16 rebounds in two games in downtown Phoenix, but didn’t get enough assistance from his supporting cast.

“Kobe had a great game,” Lamar Odom said about Game 4. “Too bad we weren’t able to come along with him.”

Los Angeles returns to the Staples Center where they are 41-7 (21-26-1 ATS) this season and needs to reestablish control of the series which is tied at 2-2.

The Lakers are 12-3 ATS after three or more consecutive Over’s this year and while Kobe is complaining about the defensive effort, other wonder if the Suns zone defense has gotten into the heads of L.A. players.

"It's the zone," Lakers center Andrew Bynum admitted. "We're settling for outside jump shots. They were out there moving that ball, they were confident playing at home and they really just shot the ball well. They had everybody spaced out so everybody's running around."

Though, as coach Phil Jackson pointed out, his team has shot 48.3 and 49.5 percent in the last two losses while averaging 107.5 points per game, but does some of the hesitation on the Lakers offense carry over unto the defensive end, causing lapses in concentration for a club not known for “Terminator” single-mindedness.

What the Lakers zone offense has also lacked is getting the ball into high post consistently, with cutters running baseline or weakside cutters slashing to the rim. While Ron Artest is still a fine defensive player, the loss of Trevor Ariza hurts the Lakers in this situation, since he has greater quickness, understands how to cut more effectively to the basket and is a more consistent three-point shooter than Artest.

Phoenix is bubbling with confidence and is 14-6 ATS in road encounters after a combined score of 205 points or more in a trio of tilts this season. Channing Frye found his misplaced jump shot and the Suns reserves lambasted the Lakers bench 54-20 after being mildly ineffective for the first three games. "The bench played fantastic," the Suns' Steve Nash said.

Coach Alvin Gentry is earning his coaching “onions” as he left his bench players in the game for almost nine minutes of the final quarter, since they had produced 18-3 run, essentially putting Los Angeles away.

"We believe in those guys and they really believe in themselves," Gentry said. "I thought they were much better defensively than they were offensively, and they were great offensively."

Though no Phoenix player would publicly admit this, they know a Game 5 upset gives them best chance to win the series with Saturday’s conflict back at Planet Orange. A Game 7 win in L.A. would a monumental task to pull off for Phoenix.

Sportsbooks have the Lakers as 7.5-point pick, with total of 218. Pau Gasol and the rest of his teammates have to play like they did during eight-game postseason winning streak (7-1 ATS) and they are 18-5 ATS when tied in a playoff series since 1996. The Suns are 33-14 ATS after allowing 105 points or more and will have to solve the Los Angeles team in the yellow uniforms since they are 1-7 and 2-6 ATS in L.A.

TNT continues with the series at 9:00 Eastern and the Lake Show is 8-0 OVER after two straight games where both teams scored 100 points or more this season.

Home Rules in NBA West Finals

People tend to hear and then add their own personal twist to what they just listened to, which ultimately tends to change or exaggerate the original topic. The Phoenix Suns had gone from a terrible defense team to one that was competent after the All-Star break this season. The more games Phoenix won and their players and coaches talked about improved defense being the difference, the more the media and public bought into it.

After holding Portland and San Antonio to 95.9 points per game in their first two series triumphs, the mantra was viewed as the new and improved Phoenix Suns.

The Los Angeles Lakers being more talented, with better offensive weapons, quickly put Alan Gentry’s team more into proper perspective, averaging 126 points in the first two games against the Suns.

Gentry is an affable coach, quick to give praise to his team and at least publicly, measures his disappointment when he sees a lack of effort or execution.

For Game 3, Gentry knew a couple of areas that needed immediate improvement.

He started with realizing his club was no match to play the Lakers straight-up defensively and that doubling different L.A. players was failing as badly as British Petroleum’s attempt to solve the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Gentry knew his team was still below average defensively, but was capable of making SOME stops, which might be enough to knock off the Lakers if the offense continued to be productive.
The head coach and assistant coaches went to a zone defense, which took Kobe Bryant and his teammates out of the triangle offense. Gentry and his staff hoped Los Angeles might become content to fire away from long range and kept his fingers crossed they wouldn’t bury too many. Though the Lakers made nine three-point baskets, it took them 32 attempts to reach that level, lowering their record to 7-3 ATS as road underdogs.

Offensively, Phoenix got aggressive taking the ball to the basket. Forget the talk the Lakers being Lemuel Gulliver from the book “Gulliver’s Travels”, where he washed ashore after a shipwreck and was captured by the people Lilliput (the Suns were bring characterized as the same size as Lilliputians), being one-twelfth the size of a normal human being.

The Suns went at their “giant” foes with abandon and ended up shooting 42 free throws (37 made) to their counterpart’s smallish total of 20. The 118-109 victory brought Phoenix back into the series and gave them hope for the next contest where they are 37-10 and 29-16-2 ATS.
Two main players on the floor changed the direction of the series. Amare Stoudemire was virtually unstoppable with 42 points and 11 rebounds and Lamar Odom returned to the planet earth, with 10 points on 4-14 shooting and had as many fouls as rebounds (6).

Though it probably won’t show in Game 4, Los Angeles has had ample rest, however another loss in the desert could make the series a far greater challenge, forced to play every other day, where they are 4-12 ATS with one day off.

The money is mostly riding on the Lakers, now a one-point favorite after being a 1.5-point underdog to open, with the total higher yet again at 222 after three straight Over’s.

Kobe and company are 18-7 ATS in road games after scoring 105 points or more in three consecutive contests and 23-12 OVER having won two of their last three games this season. Phoenix will try and square up the series and is 22-8 ATS after a tilt where both teams scored 105 points or more. The team with shaggy-haired point guard and fractured nose is 41-22 OVER when both teams score 98 or more points in a game this season.

TNT will against provide this West Finals conflict starting at 9:00 Eastern with coaching adjustments very important. The home team is on 8-1 ATS run between these Pacific Division competitors.

Suns need to play D-Fence

Arizona has been in the news quite a bit lately and various government agencies have been under attack. In response to this, they have become downright defensive, which is something Suns fans are looking for from their team playing at home trailing the Los Angeles Lakers 2-0.

Phoenix has willing approved 128 and 124 points to the Lakers in the first two supposed conflicts with Los Angeles in the Western Finals, which might be considered passable if this was an old-school ABA contest or an All-Star clash. The problem is that neither is true, and the Lakers have scored more than George Clooney and Brad Pitt in their younger days.
Nothing has worked on the defensive end for the Suns that even coach Alvin Gentry let his guard down after Game 2.

"I'm open for suggestions," Gentry said on his way out of the interview room late Wednesday night.

"Even from the media."

A better place to start is with his players. With all the talk of who is or is not legal in the Grand Canyon state, Gentry has to convince his players that getting up and guarding your man is perfectly legal, but it doesn’t do much good to let the player you are supposed to be guarding to around you like a bull and matador confrontation, in which the outcome is you are gored for another basket.

"Every time we tried to make an adjustment to slow them down," Gentry said, "they go somewhere else."

Phoenix has tried to double Kobe Bryant; he passes to open man, while still scoring enough points himself. The Suns put two players on Pau Gasol on the paint, yet at 7’0 holding the ball over his head looking for open teammate, he looks like an eighth grader playing keep away from a group of first graders. Gasol has found Lamar Odom, Ron Artest and others effortlessly.
Things have gotten so bad for Phoenix even Jordan Farmar (13.5 points per game) and Shannon Brown (10.0 PPG) have looked like they could start for any of lottery teams the way they have scored in this series.

“Well, what can you say?" Gentry said. "We are just having a hard time. We can't slow them down. I thought we played well offensively, but every time we tried to make an adjustment to slow them down, they go somewhere else.

“And, you know, you do a great job on Kobe, and I thought we did. Then they go to Pau and we double-team Pau and there's Lamar, and we get it out of Lamar's hand and Jordan Farmar makes shots. And there's a reason they're the world champs. There's a good reason they're the world champs."

The Suns return home where they are 36-10, 28-16-2 ATS and have to find answers quickly. Maybe its wear Amare Stoudemire glasses that are far-sighted so they have to get closer to guard the players in purple.

What Phoenix has to do more than anything is play team defense. It’s obvious the Suns are not very sound doubling players on continual basis; instead each player has to make it his responsibility to guard his own man. If Kobe scores 50 or even 60 so be it, you guard your man and box-out on the boards.

Make the Lakers uncomfortable, they’ve played like a bunch of guys having a having a good time walking along Santa Monica beach. Throw live snakes on the floor before the game to get their attention, prove you mean business and make them understand from the start this isn’t going to be a vacation in the desert.

"You saw what the Thunder (Oklahoma City) did," Jared Dudley said. "That's our mindset."

Oddsmakers have Phoenix as 1.5-point favorites and has to take advantage of the crowd and make shots to make L.A. unsettled. They are 1-8 ATS in road games when their opponents make 39 to 45 percent of their three-pointers. The Suns have to make the Lakers pay for their limited defensive pressure and are 24-7 ATS vs. defensive teams forcing 14 or less turnovers a game the second half of this season.

Those doing sports betting presently anticipate there is almost no ceiling on the total that has sky-rocketed to 219 and Steve Nash’s pals need a lower scoring contest and they are 20-10 UNDER after allowing 100 points or more three straight games. Kobe and company have the ability to shift gears and are 7-0 UNDER on the road after covering the spread in two or more consecutive times.

TNT has what is basically a do-or-die tilt for the Suns at 8:30 Eastern and they are 15-5 ATS at Planet Orange having lost two of their last three games.

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Better bring shades for Suns and Lakers in Game 2

One of the wonderful aspects of visiting Tinsel Town is you never know when the stars will be out. You could be standing in line at legendary Pink’s Hot Dogs or roast beef haven Phillipes and Sandra Bullock or Tom Hanks might be waiting in line with you. The same can also be true on the hardwood, where every now and again the Los Angeles Lakers and their stars give a memorable performance at the Staples Center.

There is always a bit of the unknown when a NBA team has a long layoff, you can never be sure what it means good or bad. The Orlando Magic appeared to be effected negatively with their extra time off against Boston, but the Lakers played refreshed and looked better than a Santa Monica sunset.

Kobe Bryant was in “the zone” scoring 40 points on 23 shot attempts. Bryant appeared more than any other L.A. player to have benefitted from the down time. "My legs benefited a lot," Bryant said. "I was able to take some time off and just get stronger, get my legs stronger, body stronger."

However, Bryant wasn’t the only Lakers player that played rejuvenated and Phil Jackson’s squad proved just how challenging they are to defeat when they all committed to common goal.

Lamar Odom had 19 points and 19 boards (seven on offense) and was dialed in throughout.
Paul Gasol was 10 for 13 shooting, even converting on a couple of almost impossible buckets for a man his size. Derek Fisher was defensively possessed in staying with Steve Nash and though he has 13 assists, Fisher and his teammates limited the former MVP to 13 points on only 10 shots.

Two keys for Phoenix coming into the series were rebounding and bench strength. The Suns were outrebounded by eight and their reserves were out-pointed 44-35 in losing by 21.

"They played great, one of the best games I've seen them play in the playoffs this season," Suns coach Alvin Gentry said. "Kobe kind of controlled the whole game. I thought we could have withstood the game that he had ... but when he's making his jumper like that, there's not a whole lot you can do about it."

Phoenix is going to have to play much better defense as L.A. was fearless doing what they wanted offensively. (Shannon Brown’s dunk attempt for example) The Suns are 31-13 ATS after allowing 105 points or more this season and if Kobe stays percolating, they must negate the rest of his teammates since you aren’t going to be on the winning side permitting 58 percent shooting.

“They're probably going to continue to be taller than us as the series goes on, so we've got to ... make everything as tough as possible," Steve Nash wryly stated. "We played hard, but we didn't make enough shots, and we had a few too many breakdowns."

Subtract Grant Hill and the other four Phoenix starters shot 59.5 percent, the issue was they generated only 42 attempts. If the Suns expect to tie series and move spread record to 20-10 after one or more losses, the starters have to get more shots at the rim and Channing Frye and Jared Dudley can’t put up combined 2 for 13 numbers.

Phoenix is a seven-point underdogs, with total leaping to 216. For those that use online sports betting it’s impossible to ignore the Lakers are 11-1 ATS after three or more consecutive Over’s and 17-6 against the spread in home games when playing only their second game in week. Coach Jackson’s club is 13-4 UNDER after a wipeout win by 20 points or more.

TNT will again have the coverage of Game 2 from LaLa-Land at 9:00 Eastern with the desert dogs 14-4 UNDER after they allowed a shooting percentage of 55 percent or higher.

Tuesday's Top Plays

The wins just keep coming at 3Daily Winners as we were 3-0 yesterday taking us to 48-23, 67.6 percent on this hot streak. The Free Play and the Top Trend are the same team and they have impressive numbers. Our Best System is over 80 percent the last 13 years and really rocking at 88 percent the last three. Good Luck

What I thought today – If the Lakers played likes they did in Game 1 against Phoenix the rest of the playoffs, they could save a lot of time and money and just give them the trophy now. It is a thing of beauty to watch an elite player in any sport “locked in” like Kobe Bryant was last night.

On Twitter at: http://twitter.com/3Dailywinners

Free Baseball System -1) Play On home favorites like the Dodgers with a money line of -175 to -250, averaging 0.9 or less home runs a game on the season, after a win by four runs or more. In the last three years this little system is 22-3.

Free Baseball Trend -2) The Chicago Cubs are 19-0 in home games vs. a very good bullpen whose WHIP is 1.250 or better over the last three seasons.

Free Baseball Pick -3) The Left Coast Connection was 8-0 behind Tampa Bay as ML or RL play but I won’t count that because the game is over. Their next best choice was the Cubs at 9-1.

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NBA Western Conference Finals Preview

(1) L.A. Lakers vs. (3) Phoenix

Talking to a number of various wise guy bettors living in Las Vegas, one conclusion was evident before the playoffs started, yes the Los Angeles Lakers looked vulnerable but were still the safest bet to win another title and the Phoenix Suns were the best long shot among the top four seeds from either conference to become the upset champions of the NBA.

Both those assessments have proven correct, however one will be kicked to the curb with the West Finals at hand. Here is a look at what each team has to do to reach the The Finals.

One aspect that is often forgotten in the NBA playoffs is how very good teams can pick up momentum. The Lakers closed the regular season 4-7 SU and ATS and were like Whitney Houston’s recent concert tour, very unimpressive. More than one sports fan believed Oklahoma City had a fair shot to upset Los Angeles in the first round and after they suffered 21-point loss to the Thunder to tie the series at two, that belief no longer seemed so far-fetched.

However, since then, L.A. has gotten serious about basketball again and has won six straight, covering five times and now another championship ring is in sight.

I apologize in advance, but there is not getting around it (literally), the size of the Lakers’ changes how teams can attack them. With Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom, it just doesn’t leave much room in the middle, which helps takes away the one inside player the Suns have in Amare Stoudemire.

L.A. guards and wing players can be super aggressive defensively, knowing what they have behind them. Ron Artest is not the defender he was a few years ago, but what he’s lost in quickness he makes up for in smarts and he will try to attach himself at the hip of Jason Richardson or Jared Dudley when he enters the game.

Phoenix has picked up a reputation as being good defensive team, while they are not as lame as when Mike D’Antoni was coach; they are far from good, mostly just average. With the talk of Grant Hill being a defensive demon, that’s all Kobe Bryant needs for a personal challenge.

Remember last year when Denver had all those high effort guys coming off the bench and they actually gave Phil Jackson’s team trouble at first, yet after Game 3 had little impact, that’s what the Lakers do as the series wears on, systematically they take away your strengths and even Derek Fisher becomes more useful knocking down shots. There is a reason why the Lake Show is 5-1 and 4-2 ATS against the Suns at Staples the past three years, they are bigger and better and hard to beat four times.

Since Steve Nash has arrived in the desert with his injury-plagued career in the balance, all he has done is transform Phoenix into the most entertaining team in the NBA and a outfit that has been among the better groups out West. Be that as it may, the window of opportunity is closing and the sense is the entire club and organization knows it.

That creates the first chance for the Suns, desperation, hardly something the Lakers ever feel and when they do, usually nothing good comes from it. (Game 6 Lakers at Boston two years ago comes to mind) Phoenix has to be able to leave all on the floor each night, no Game 1 or Game 4’s against Portland “we just weren’t focused” nights. You only get once chance to beat a champion and if you let it slip, look in the mirror.

Coach Alvin Gentry is credited for making Phoenix a more complete squad than past versions, with greater attention to detail on both ends of the floor. Steve Nash should be able to run circles around Derek Fisher, but his key is drawing the defense to him to make the assist and frustrate the Lakers big men.

Coach Jackson will try to prevent dibble penetration by Nash and make him more a shooter than facilitator, Nash has to defeat this defense by using the screen and role continually with Stoudemire. If successful, this forces other defenders to get involved and the NBA’s best outside shooting team will find itself with many more open looks.

Phoenix can’t let the Lakers play volleyball on the offensive glass; they have to at least be within five boards at all times once the second half starts.

Gentry’s bench has been a difference maker, which is why this desert squad is 22-4 and 19-6-1 ATS since Mar. 14. With how ineffective the L.A. bench is, they need to outscore them nightly by 15 or more points, which place the Suns in far more advantageous spot and could mean heavier minutes for Lakers regulars, this might matter later in the series.

It goes without saying Phoenix has to run, but as they proved against San Antonio, it’s not about running and dunking for layups, it is about beating the Lakers defense back and making the extra pass to find the three-point shooter who is open to bury the shot and wear down the big guys in gold and purple late in games.

Jackson pulled out his clichéd “zen master” card saying Nash carry’s the ball (and Michael Jordan did what in Chicago when Phil was there), but he picked the wrong guy in Nash.

"It's news to me. I'm fortunate. I don't know if I've been called for a carry yet,'' he said after the Suns practiced Saturday, then he added straight-faced: "I've never heard anyone accuse me of carrying it. I mean, the best coach in the league Greg Popovich (of San Antonio) didn't have a problem with it last week.''(Nice subtle rip on the Zen-ster)

As is said in boxing, “contrasting styles make fights”. That will be the case out West, with the Lakers trying to control tempo and have their size be a difference maker, while Phoenix wants to play fast, hit 3’s and make enough defensive stops to matter.

(In my best NBA analyst voice and following all spoken clichés) At the end of the day, the Lakers having a long break before the series, another lengthy break before heading to Arizona, (I'm surprised California government officials are letting the Lakers play in Zona, since Sherrif Joe will want to see Gasol's papers) gives them rest and ample time to make adjustments, which makes them awfully difficult to beat unless the opponent plays great defense.

3Daily Winners Pick- L.A. Lakers (-350) in seven over Phoenix (+290)

Bring the brooms for Monday

One professional basketball team swept away the competition in the second round; now two more will try and match them to start a new work week. Orlando and Los Angeles Lakers will attempt and do the same thing Phoenix performed yesterday and whisk away their opponent’s in four games to advance to conference finals.

The Magic are presumed to have the easier time since they have toyed with Atlanta like the Harlem Globetrotters vs. the Washington Generals. Orlando has won the three games in the series by an average of 29 points, which by NBA standards is about the same difference as a balanced budget in Washington D.C. vs. the national debt.

Orlando’s worst shooting game in the series was their last at 50.7 percent (the other two were 52.4 and 55.9 percent), while Atlanta shot attempts looked like a few of Tiger Woods drives over the weekend, making a paltry 36.8 percent vs. the Magic, however at least Woods had a back neck as excuse.

The Magic have won lucky 13 in a row (12-1 ATS) and are 13-3 ATS in road games having covered 12 or more of their last 15 against the spread over the last three seasons. Oddsmakers are taking a hit on the Hawks as the old “pendulum” theory is taking a beating with Atlanta, which is why Orlando is 6.5-point favorites after being just two in Game 3.

The Hawks are 2-13 ATS in the second round of the playoffs and 4-18 ATS off a home massacre of 20 points or more and the most telling and damning remarks come from one of their own.

When asked how well his team plays together center Al Horhord offered this.

“The chemistry, it’s OK,” Horford said, hardly a glowing assessment. “At times, it can be really good. Other times, not so good. There are ups and down. We have a lot of good guys on the team. We mesh to a certain extent. I just think sometimes, when things don’t go our way, everybody seems to crawl into their own little hole.” How could a sports bettor take the points with that cryptic statement for this TNT tilt at 8:00 Eastern?

While many basketball experts don’t recognize much of a difference between the Lakers and Utah besides the height factor, Los Angeles has on other clear edge, which is why they are the defending NBA champions.

The Lakers are maddening bunch this year as reported underachievers, merely going thru the motions too often for people’s taste. They had the third best regular season record at 57-25 and were far from domineering at +4.7 points point differential (tied for sixth overall). Their 39-50-2 spread record is a scattergood for a team of their ability, yet the one thing they do right the vast portion of the time is they make one more shot, grab one more rebound or make one more defensive stop to win games than the opposition. This carried them to Game 3 victory and 3-0 series lead even if good fortune as much as anything kept Wesley Matthews tip-in try at the buzzer out of the basket.

For all the criticism Phil Jackson’s team receives they have won five in a row and covered the number four times and have growing confidence, which is not good news for future opponents.
“Down the stretch, we made big shots. We’ve got guys that aren’t scared to take them,” Kobe Bryant said. “All across the board, guys will step up and they make them. That’s why we never really fret when it’s a five-point game or a two-point game with a couple minutes to go. “
The Lakers have no problem playing the up-tempo game with Utah and are 9-1 ATS after three or more consecutive Over’s this season.

Utah is 2.5-point favorites, with total at a series high of 207 and the Jazz are 13-4 ATS when the line is +3 to -3 this year. “If we get the ball in the basket last night in the end of the ballgame it’s a different day,” Utah coach Jerry Sloan said Sunday. “But that’s part of it. You learn how to deal with the good and bad in life. There’s always going to be both at different times.”

The Jazz are 8-0 ATS at Energy Solutions Arena after a home game where both teams score 100 or more points and are 8-1 OVER in all playoff conflicts this campaign. The Lakers would prefer not to extend series and have nearly as much rest as the Suns before they meet and are 34-19 ATS as underdogs.

This contest will begin after Orlando and Atlanta complete their game and L.A. is 13-5 UNDER when the line is +3 to -3 this season.

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Is it wise to wager on Saturday’s NBA home teams?

The Utah Jazz and Atlanta Hawks are down 0-2 and neither is given much of a chance to come back in their respective series. That doesn’t mean they won’t give complete effort having slept in the own beds and will feel the energy of the home crowd once they hit the floor. But does either team really have enough, can they play a complete game with the minimum amount of failures and get back into the series to make it interesting at the very least. For the sports bettor, this is what to look for if you want to play these teams.

In primetime on ABC at 8:00 Eastern, Utah is looking forward to adding one more weapon to their depleted arsenal, with Andrei Kirilenko “AK47”, expected to play after missing most of two months with a strained left calf.

Kirilenko is unlikely to be a major factor, but if he can limit Kobe Bryant defensively, while invigorating the offense, that becomes a positive for the Jazz.

Utah is 35-9 and 29-13-2 ATS in home games this season and needs to make an adjustment that is contrary to how they play. Coach Jerry Sloan’s motion offense has again led to Utah being one of the top shooting teams in the NBA at 49 percent, but after awhile, you can’t keep going into the paint against the taller Lakers and have shots stamped “return to sender” continually.

Utah has had 20 blocked field goal attempts already in this series and might be better served to drive and kick out to shooters or use drive-and-stab dribble to create 10-foot shots instead of facing rejections or altered shots.

The Jazz are not going to beat Los Angeles by playing swarming defense, they have to out-shoot them. In Utah’s last 10 wins over the Lakers at home, they have had the higher shooting percentage nine times. In fact, the team that shoots the ball better is 14-1-1 ATS in Salt Lake City since Nov. 3, 2004.

The Jazz are 4.5-point favorites with total of 202.5. Utah is 18-6 ATS as a home favorite of six points or less and 15-6 OVER in double revenge situations. The Lakers are seemingly much better than Utah and appear to get bored when building any substantial lead but are 18-7 ATS after consecutive contests forcing opponent to commit 11 or less turnovers.

It’s hard to believe NBA analyst and former coach Hubie Brown is 76 years old, as he still can make watching an NBA game a pleasure, breaking down the teams and players for the more sophisticated fan, yet make salient understandable points for the casual observer. Brown also has the gift of criticizing a player in a manner that isn’t demeaning but fair, but later finding a positive about that same player later in a telecast, just like a coach.

Brown has had plenty of ammo to work with watching the Atlanta. The Hawks were a no-show in Game 1, losing to Orlando by eye-popping 43 points. As presumed, Atlanta showed much more resolve in the next contest and was tied at 83 with the Magic after three quarters.
However, NBA basketball is about performing when it matters most, the fourth quarter.

Atlanta is like a lot of NBA teams, they lacked that killer instinct to take care of opponent in the last 12 minutes and they were outscored 28-15 by Orlando in the final stanza.

For this 5:00 Eastern matchup on ESPN, Atlanta is 8-3-1 ATS off a double digit defeat and has to make up their minds they want to play all 48 minutes. This team had impressive wins in the regular season over good clubs and has to bring that same fire for all four quarters. The other component necessary to victory is Mike Bibby playing like a point guard of distinction.

Atlanta has just 28 assists in two games vs. Orlando and Bibby has a grand total of four. Coach Mike Woodson’s team to often lapses into dribbling without purpose, running down the shot clock and taking forced shot attempts. As John Hollinger of ESPN points out, Bibby’s postseason play has been the weakest of the remaining point guards still in the tournament and the Hawks are not talented enough to hide his poor play like the Lakers can do with Derek Fisher or someone else that comes off the bench in Los Angeles. Bibby’s team needs him, it’s time for his to deliver.

The Hawks are catching 2.5-points as home dogs and they will have to do better than 1-8 ATS off a SU loss if they want to continue this series beyond four games. Going up against the hottest team in the playoffs will test their fortitude, since Orlando is on 12-game winning streak and is awe-inspiring 11-1 ATS.

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Jazz vs. Lakers Series Preview

The NBA playoff scheduling often times borders on the ridiculous as Los Angeles and Utah won Game 6 matchups in their respective series and start the next round less than 48 hours later, while Phoenix and San Antonio completed their first round series the day prior and don’t play until a day later. However it’s not like the Lakers and Jazz aren’t familiar with one another with four regular season contests and meeting in the playoffs the last two years. For individual games, the home team is 18-8-1 ATS when these two get together.

(1) L.A. Lakers vs. (5) Utah

The Lakers were shown to have various weaknesses by Oklahoma City who was less than a second away from pushing Los Angeles to a seventh game, but Pau Gasol was in the right place at the right time and the defending NBA champions moved forward. Can offensive-minded Utah finish what the Thunder couldn’t?

Phil Jackson’s squad played four games to find out they needed to play like a team. This meant getting everyone involved in the offense and for Kobe Bryant to be patient with his teammates even when they were doing the team a disservice.

Russell Westbrook drove the Lakers crazy and Deron Williams can to the same, just in a different manner. Williams does not have Westbrook’s quickness, making it somewhat easier for Lakers big guys to rotate quicker on penetration. Look for coach Jackson to throw the kitchen sink at Williams, with Derek Fisher, Shannon Brown, Jordan Farmar and Kobe Bryant all taking turns to see what works in controlling him. If all else fails even Ron Artest could be looking in Deron’s eyes.

Gasol has the length to bother Carlos Boozer, who scored 12 points or less in three of their four matchups. This would be a huge negative for the Jazz who needs another big time scorer to keep pace with Williams.

Lamar Odom and Ron Artest have to bring more to the dance against Utah. Odom is your ultimate space cadet, playing only when he’s in the mood. Artest could be a bigger factor offensively since he doesn’t have a player of Kevin Durant’s scoring ability to worry about and though CJ Miles can have outbursts, he’s not in Durant’s area code.

Utah lost three of four to the Lakers this season and has been ousted from the postseason by L.A. the last two years. Since March 14 of last season, the Jazz have 2-8 SU and ATS record against the Lakers, with the average loss being by 14.2 per game. What can Utah do to turn the tide?

Williams needs to have similar numbers as what he had against Denver (25.8 points and 11.3 assists). This won’t be easy since the Lakers are much better defensively. That means rookie Wesley Matthews has to become an X-factor. He has to total 15 or more points per game, forcing the Lakers to use Bryant to guard him.

Paul Millsap was outstanding off the bench (17.3 PPG) against the Nuggets and similar contributions will be required. Utah forward Andrei Kirilenko could be available for Game 2 in this Western semifinal, however most reports have the first contest in Salt Lake City as more realistic estimate.

The Jazz could cover a good number of spreads in this series if Los Angeles is disinterested, but have to get over the mental part of defeating the Lakers in attempting to win games. Utah is 2-8 ATS playoff games as an underdog of 5.0-10.5, but the Lake Show is just as miserable at home with recent 4-10-1 ATS mark at the Staples Center.

If the Lakers learned one thing from playing Oklahoma City, it was they could play possession by possession in slower paced contests and still survive. Utah’s style is more to their liking and they already have the confidence to knock them off and will do so.

3Daily Winners Pick- L.A. Lakers (-400) in five over Utah (+300)

Friday evening is moving day in NBA Playoffs

One of two things happens to start the weekend in professional basketball, either a series will conclude and the winning squad can start thinking about their next series and opponent or the competing teams will return to familiar locale for a Game 7 on Sunday. This makes for real drama as a trio of series underdogs look to wrap-up or extend a series.

Atlanta at Milwaukee 7:00E ESPN

Though the hip-hop generation of NBA players likely doesn’t include many U2 fans, a song comes to mind watching Atlanta and Milwaukee the last three games, “Desire”.

The Bucks performance in pulling the 91-87 upset as nine-point favorites was unremarkable, given the fact they shot 40.3 percent for the game, were outscored at the center position 25-4 and saw various players disappear for long stretches even when they were on the floor.

Yet, if one game defines a team and its coach, it was Game 5 for Milwaukee with their desire. Scott Skiles grinded away as a college and NBA player and his less-talented contingent played like he did his whole career. This Bucks team is 14-4 ATS in home games after playing as a road underdog this season and goes for the first surprise of the playoffs.

Atlanta showed what they were made of as Josh Smith, Al Horford, Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford all decided individually they were going to be “the man” and went about their business trying to take their defenders one on one with passing the ball be damned. Once again the Hawks proved they are not mature TEAM and that they lack heart. Peering ahead it is little wonder this team is 1-10 ATS revenging a home loss this season.

Sportsbooks still has the more talent-laden Atlanta squad as two-point favorites, however it would take a large dosage of courage to back a team that is 1-10 SU and ATS on the playoff road the last three seasons. Milwaukee was the best spread team in the NBA this campaign and it is continuing in the playoffs. They are 20-6 ATS having covered the spread in three or more consecutive contests.

L.A. Lakers at Oklahoma City 9:30E ESPN

The people of the United States are known for their short attention spans and ever increasing shorter memories. In this celebrity-status world, it’s easy to jump on the latest fad and forget about what is tried and true.

The basketball world has become infatuated with latest new kids on the block, the Oklahoma City Thunder. They are young, talented, and fearless and their youth doesn’t allow them to be discouraged for long.

The eminent demise of the Los Angeles Lakers has been discussed from coast to coast on talk radio and every chatroom and blog one could stumble upon. The world had lost track of just how good the Lakers can be last playing a complete basketball game on Mar. 12 in Phoenix, 21 games ago or a lifetime in today’s hectic world.

But the Lakers came prepared, executed their game plan Tuesday evening, integrating all the parts of the triangle offense to perfection and showed why gold and purple still matters. L.A. is 26-15 ATS after failing to cover three of their last four.

Oklahoma City gladly returns home, even faced with elimination and is a one-point favorite with total of 194.5. The Thunder is thunderous 15-5 ATS off a road loss and uncanny 27-8 ATS after failing to cover the number. OKC is 13-3 UNDER at the Ford Center after wearing the visiting blue togs. The Lakers will seek to deliver the knockout blow, but are 1-9 ATS off a cover. Kobe and company are 22-8 UNDER with two days’ rest.

Denver at Utah 10:30E ESPN2

At least for a day, no negative tweets, talk or posturing out of Denver as they held off first match point against Utah at home Wednesday 116-102.

Focal point Carmelo Anthony must have made his case strong enough that he needed help as five other Nuggets scored in double figures and more importantly, the team collectively took a defensive stance, holding the Jazz to series low 45.2 percent.

“Everybody stepped up tonight and did their part,” Anthony said after the game. “With Nene going down early, ‘Frenchie’ came in and stepped up, ‘Bird’ played the way he is supposed to be playing. Everybody played their role tonight. That’s how we won.”

Denver’s more fluid offense is easily measured; they are 47-8 SU when they have 20 or more assists and 9-24 SU when fall below that figure. The Nuggets cannot afford anything less than the same work ethic and compulsion to team work if they expect to continue series and add to 7-3 ATS mark in the first round of postseason.

Utah is 8-2 ATS off a double digit defeat and did not match Denver’s intensity from last contest. “They were a lot more alive, they went after the ball a little harder than we did,” Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. “The players off the bench gave them a big lift. Their bench people killed us.”

Utah is up a six-point home favorite, with the total at 215.5 and might face Denver club without Nene, whose been diagnosed with a sprained knee. The Jazz are 17-4 ATS off a road loss and will continue to keep the offense flowing thru Deron Williams, who became the first player in NBA history to record five straight 20-point/10-assist double-doubles to begin a series.

“Stuff was too easy (for the Nuggets),” Williams said. “We have to get back to playing our basketball.”

The odds are not in Denver’s favor with recent 1-8-1 ATS away slide, but if they want to force a deciding Game 7 at the Pepsi Center on Sunday, they will have to find a way.

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.

NBA homers have to come thru

Charlotte and Milwaukee are in 0-2 holes and will be looking for energy from the home patrons attempting to hold serve in what is a must win scenario. Oklahoma City got the first of two they needed in Game 3 and also have to come up with a another victory, fully understanding what a daunting task it would be to go to L.A. having to win down 3-1 in the series. The roundball adventure continues for home clubs needing to come up big.

Orlando at Charlotte 2:00E TNT

Gerald Wallace and Stephen Jackson have accounted for 51.2 percent of the Bobcats offense, which suggests that others have to tickle the twine since Charlotte’s has two “L’s” to begin the series.

Charlotte is not a good outside shooting team, depending more on slashing and driving to the rim and collecting fouls for free throw attempts. Their loss Wednesday night was perfect illustration off what has gone wrong.

The Bobcats could not solve Orlando’s defensive schemes and committed 19 turnovers and had 17 fewer attempts from the charity stripe than the Magic (35-18).

"Our defense is keeping us in it, and our offense is keeping us out of the game," said center Tyson Chandler. "We can't come off what we do and just look for our jump shots. We're not a jump-shot team and not a 1-on-1 team.” Charlotte is 9-18 ATS after not covering two of their last three against the spread this season.

The Bobcats have to rev up the offense and are 15-5 ATS after scoring 80 points or less and 16-5 ATS after totaling 35 points or less in the first half.

They are two-point underdogs to Orlando, with total of 184.5 and the Magic are 16-4 ATS off two exact home contests. Coach Stan Van Gundy will seek similar balance as the last contest with five double digit scorers and the top four averaging 10-12 shots each.
Orlando has won five of last six in downtown Charlotte, covering four times and the UNDER is 5-1.

Atlanta at Milwaukee 7:30E ESPN

The Bucks have had ample time to correct their inadequacies, last playing Tuesday night. Milwaukee has been within contact in both games with Atlanta, but the general sense was the Hawks have not been really threatened in the series.

Milwaukee has to improve dramatically in transition defense if they expect to come out a winner in Game 3.

“As athletic as they are, it’s not like anybody’s dunking in a crowd on us. They’re wide open. The balls are going up, and they’re finishing them,” coach Scott Skiles explaining the 11 dunks and 19 layups his team allowed in the first two games. “All we’re comparing ourselves to is ourselves. We normally don’t give that stuff up. We need to not give that easy stuff up.”

The Bucks were the best cover team in the NBA this season at 51-28-3 ATS, but have dropped the first two in postseason. They are 14-4 ATS at the Bradley Center after two games as a road underdog.

The Bucks fans will be cascading boo’s down to Atlanta’s Josh Smith, who evidently has had too much time off and wants a part-time Travel Channel gig.

Smith was asked about what he would with his free time in Milwaukee and if he would ever vacation there. “Would you go? Would you go? Would you go up there?” Smith responded. “Everybody knows there ain’t nothing to do in Milwaukee, man. Everybody knows that.” Hello boo-birds.

Atlanta is a one-point underdog at Bookmaker.com and will be presented with a challenge, since Milwaukee is 19-6 and 14-10-1 ATS at home in 2010, however two of the spread losses have come from the Hawks. The Bucks are 13-4 ATS after three straight games forcing opponent to commit 14 or less turnovers and the Birds are 4-16 ATS as visitors in all playoff matchups.

L.A. Lakers at Oklahoma City 9:30E ESPN

The Lakers had been dismissing talk of uninspired play for over a month, saying when the playoffs arrived they would be like a warship ready for battle, with all hands on deck. In their first true challenge of the playoffs (a No. 1 seed winning at home over a No. 8 doesn’t count), Los Angeles lacked the mental and physical capacity to succeed on the road, losing in the fourth quarter to Oklahoma City.

The Thunder outworked and showed greater desire in winning the crucial final 12 minutes 27-21, after holding one-point lead in the final stanza.

Oklahoma City is now 6-1 ATS against teams with a winning road record of late and can even this series if the Phil Jackson’s lethargic club settles for long jumps shots (31 three-point attempts) and doesn’t work the ball better into the paint. When Serge Ibaka and Nick Collison were paired together, they bottled up the Lakers big men in the lane and they offered little resistance in demanding the ball.

Though smaller in stature, OKC’s big guys were superior in boxing out the taller L.A. bunch and destroyed them on the glass with effort and hustle 53-39.

Kobe Bryant and his teammates continue to be play without discipline and have the patience of a three year old. Kevin Durant had more free throws than the Lake Show (13-12) and Bryant returned to selfish ways of seeking his shot, which could be a function of the rest of the Lakers players not actively working to take quality shots. It’s no wonder they are 13-24 ATS in second half of the season this season.

The Thunder are two-point favorites and are 13-3 ATS when the favored by 4.5 or less, with L.A. 2-8 ATS in reverse role of 4.5 or fewer points underdog. With the total at 193.5, the purple clad Lakers are 12-4 UNDER when the line is +3 to -3 this season, losing by 1.9 points a game.

Three NBA teams need tasty home cookin'

Over the next two days, the series switch to new locales with the home town fans clamoring for success from the guys in the short pants. A couple of the teams are in desperate straits and need to make something happen or they can start making summer vacation plans. One other squad doesn’t have its best player however can take the series lead with a victory before its loud and proud fans.

Cleveland at Chicago 7:00E TNT

The Bulls played the Cavaliers even for three quarters, unfortunately professional basketball is a four quarters contest and for those that can’t stand the NBA, saying you only have to watch the last quarter, they were nodding their head with pride about Game 2.

Chicago was tied after three quarters but was outscored 35-25 in the final 12 minutes, thanks to LeBron James doing his best Mariano Rivera impression as the closer. (James is well-known Yankees fan) James scored 15 of his 40 points in the final stanza, ruining the Bulls upset bid.
“They call me the closer every time I come in the fourth quarter,” James said. “It’s my time to put the game away or do what I do best and that’s try to close the game the right way.” Cleveland is 14-4 ATS off a home win by 10 points or more this season.

Chicago will receive the energy from its home fans and the Bulls better start rampage from the opening tip, since nobody expects the Bulls to win four of the next five games. One Chi-Town player enduring himself to the locals is Joakim Noah, whose been a force on both ends of the floor and talking a little trash about Cleveland. He’s more than ready for next assignment. (Note picture- Noah not fazed by Zydrunas Ilgauskas Lithuanian mind-probe)

We can't get discouraged," Noah said. "They did what they were supposed to do. We'll have our fans ready to go for the next game and we'll be ready to go on Thursday."

The Bulls are a four-point underdog, with total of 193 and are 13-4 ATS off two or more consecutive road losses. Chicago is 13-4 UNDER playing with two days rest this season.

L.A. Lakers at Oklahoma City 9:30E TNT

This is all fun and new for the Thunder, being in the postseason for the first time as members from the Sooner State. Oklahoma City lost both games to the defending champion L. A. Lakers, but they are far from discouraged.

"I think that our offense was phenomenal," Kevin Durant said. "Our energy on a defensive end was phenomenal. Of course you cannot play perfect defense an entire game. We got a lot of offensive, rebounds and we played hard.

Of course the next step in the progression is actually winning a game and the Thunder gives the impression they are well-equipped to do so. OKC is 14-5 ATS off a road loss and Bookmaker.com has installed them as 3.5-point favorites.

Thunder fans have enjoyed this young team’s rise all year and view this as the beginning of something much bigger and can hardly be disappointed no matter the outcome.

The Lakers were pushed to the end in Game 2, winning 95-92 as 5.5-point favorites, held to 37.5 percent shooting. Kobe Bryant returned to his usual self scoring 39 points, making 13 of 15 from the charity stripe. It’s a rare sight to see Los Angeles as an underdog, especially in a 1 vs 8 matchup and they are 33-18 ATS as a pooch and 10-2 UNDER in this role.

"We're going home to our crowd, which is gonna give us a lot of energy and we're gonna be ready to play," Jeff Green said Tuesday night. His team is 14-2 ATS after a contest with 15 or less assists this season.

Keep an eye on the total of 191.5 with Oklahoma City 12-2 UNDER at the Ford Center off a cover where they lost the game SU as an underdog.

Phoenix at Portland 10:00E NBA TV

Portland looked every bit like the underdog they were supposed to be, being man-handled by Phoenix 119-90 in Game 2 as 8.5-point underdogs. The news however is good on two fronts, a loss is still a loss whether it’s by one point or 29 and the Trailblazers are returning home.

We got a win," Portland guard Andre Miller said. "You don't want to lose like that any time, but we still are motivated. This is a seven-game series. (The Suns) did their job tonight, but we got a game, and it's a series. Now we have to go and try to protect our home court." Portland is 13-5 ATS after allowing 105 points or more this season.

Phoenix can take pride in understanding and doing what it takes to win as they showed in last outing. They repeatedly ran the floor for easy transition buckets, forced Portland into missing shots with greater defensive intensity (38.2 percent) and spread the ball around with Jason Richardson and Grant Hill being key figures in the victory.

“We were just more aggressive getting the ball up the floor and moving bodies around so they weren’t set,” Steve Nash said, “and they weren’t able to zone it up as well.” That raised the Suns record to 14-4 ATS playing against a team with 60-70 winning percentage this campaign.

Game 3 opened as Pick and Portland has moved to one point underdog with 7-19 ATS record at the Rose Garden after a loss by 10 points or more.