NBA - 821 Phoenix Suns @ 822 Los Angeles Lakers
Projected line: 189 points | LA Lakers by 5 points
The Lakers had two days off to rest for this game and this is also a home-home spot for them, so they will be rested for tonight. They are coming from a home win against Atlanta in a sloppy game, where their spot was horrible, as it was their first home game after a road trip. Still, they were able to put both Bynum and Gasol very active in the offensive game from early on and so, Pau shot 9-22 FG and Bynum 7-10 FG. However, Kobe had a terrible game, with 5-18 FG and just 10 points!
In fact, their offense went to a halt when Kobe tried to get his points at the end of the second, which prompted the Hawks to go on an 11-0 run! This game was one of the worst offensive games of the league this season, as the
Lakers didn’t score for more than six minutes in the second quarter because they stalled and went away from what got them the lead in the first place. The Hawks didn’t make a field goal for a full nine minutes (last 8:33 of the 3rd), as they hurried jumpers and missed shots our grandmothers could probably make!
On the other side, Phoenix is 0-3 on their last 3 games. They clearly lost at Denver, as they played without Nash, but in their games on the road against the Warriors and at home against the Hawks, Phoenix had late leads just to fall short at the end. Against Atlanta, with a rested Nash and Hill, Phoenix had a great offense, with a great ball movement dictated by Nash! The Suns had a low volume on the inside, but with good percentages and they were also very good on the outside with 12-24 FG from 16-23 feet and 6-17 3pts! Their problem was down the stretch in the fourth quarter, where they scored 0 points in 4 minutes, while committing 5 turnovers!
For this game, the Lakers have a better spot, but Phoenix has some interesting edges in transition and especially on P&R's with Nash. The Lakers are a subpar defensive team on P&R ball handler plays, a kind of play that the Suns execute really well. On the other hand, the Lakers will have a size edge down low with Bynum and Gasol, while they seem more determined in involving their two main big men on the offensive game of the team. In the first game of the series, the Lakers won by 99-83 in a close game until the 4th quarter, where the Lakers outscored the Suns by 26-15! In that game, Kobe had a huge game with 48 points, while shooting 18-31 FG, while on the other hand, Grant Hill had a horrible game with 1-12 FG! This time, I expect Phoenix to push the pace today, while probably using some zone defense against the Lakers, like they did against the Hawks in their last game and this may make the Lakers struggle at some points of the game. Therefore, I expect the Suns to be a highly competitive underdog on this contest and so, I'll take them in here. Considering the fact that I expect the Suns to push up the pace and both teams to explore their offensive edges on this matchup, I'll be also taking the over in here.
Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 821/822 Over 185,5 @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker
Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 821 Phoenix Suns (+8) @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker
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