Posts Tagged ‘Los Angeles Lakers’

May 29th, 2010 By Andrew "Mr. Multi-Task" Ryan - Cappersinfo Contributor

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The season will be on the line for the Phoenix Suns on Saturday night, and here at Cappers Info, we're making our free NBA playoff picks in the sixth game of the Western Conference Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Phoenix Suns.

Los Angeles Lakers (+1.5) @ Phoenix Suns
Saturday May 29th, 2010
9:00 ET, US Airways Arena

Los Angeles Notes: It's not often that you simultaneously use the words "Ron Artest" and "hero" together, but that's exactly what happened on Thursday night in Tinseltown. Artest snared an errant shot by G Kobe Bryant and flipped it off the backboard and into the hoop to send the LA faithful into a frenzy, as the Lakers topped the Suns 103-101 at the gun. That missed shot was about all that Bryant did wrong on the night, as he once again came up just shy of a triple-double for HC Phil Jackson's club. Over the five games in this series, Bryant is averaging 33.0 points, 9.6 assists, and 7.4 rebounds per game. G Derek Fisher really came up big as well, hitting seven of his 12 shots and seemingly coming up in a big way every time that the Suns tried to inch their way back into the game that LA once led by 18 points. It wasn't a fantastic shooting game for the Lakers, as 41.8 percent normally won't cut it, especially against the Suns. However, grabbing 19 offensive rebounds really helped matters, as did blocking ten shots. C Andrew Bynum was once again a disappointment in Game 5, as he shot 0/5 from the floor and scored just two points.

Phoenix Notes: HC Alvin Gentry has to be wondering what more his team had to do in the second half to knock off the Lakers at Staples Center. The bench players produced 29 points in the third and fourth quarters, as C Channing Frye scored all 14 of his points in the second half, while F Jared Dudley chipped in eight of his ten for the night. As for the starters, G Steve Nash had the best game that he has had all series long, scoring 29 points on 12/20 shooting to go with 11 assists against just a pair of turnovers. F Grant Hill (10), G Jason Richardson (12), and F Amare Stoudemire (19) all reached double digits in scoring as well for Phoenix. The Suns really still haven't hit their offensive potential, as we continue to say in this series. Once again, they failed to shoot above 50.0 percent from the field, and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc is very not-Phoenix-like. The Suns, typically one of the best free throw shooting teams in the league, will inevitably be kicking themselves for only going 20/29 from the charity stripe.

NBA Betting Odds: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Phoenix Suns Game 6

Sportsbook
Total
JustBet Sportsbook
+1.5
-1.5
215.5
Diamond Sportsbook
+1.5
-1.5
216
BetUS Sportsbook
+1.5
-1.5
215.5

Trends of Note: The Suns do have the home team mojo in their favor, as the hosts are now 5-0 SU and 4-1 ATS in this series. US Airways Arena has been a house of horrors for opposing teams as well, as Phoenix is 38-18-1 ATS there in its L/57 tries. The Suns have covered every NBA playoff betting line that they have faced since the opening game of the playoffs against the Trail Blazers. Los Angeles is 7-3 ATS in its L/10 games in the postseason as an underdog and is 5-1 ATS in its L/6 games after an SU victory. Saturday, for whatever reason, has also been a crucial day for both teams. The Lakers are 10-2 ATS in their L/12 games played on this day of the week, while Phoenix is winless in its L/7 in the same situation.

The Final Word: Was Thursday night completely demoralizing for the Suns? We tend to believe that the script is going to look awfully similar in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals as it did when the defending champions had to face Game 6 in Oklahoma City. There is no doubt that Phoenix is going to throw everything, including the kitchen sink at the Lakers on Saturday night, but there's something that tells us that this is where this series ends. Bryant is due to be rewarded for one of his near triple-double nights, and we think that he is going to be the difference maker again down the stretch in what should amount to be a very close game. In the end though, it'll be LA and Boston getting ready for the NBA Finals.

Prediction: Los Angeles 119 – Phoenix 117

 
May 25th, 2010 By Andrew "Mr. Multi-Task" Ryan - Cappersinfo Contributor

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In what could amount to be the most pivotal game of the Western Conference Finals, the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers will meet on Tuesday night in NBA playoff betting action.

Los Angeles Lakers (-1) @ Phoenix Suns
Tuesday May 25th, 2010
9:00 ET, US Airways Arena

Los Angeles Notes: You just know that G Kobe Bryant is going to be in the ears of his teammates after a Game 3 loss to the Suns two nights ago. Bryant did everything possible, as he scored 36 points, had 11 assists, and pulled down nine rebounds on the night. However, his team's inside game and its defense were absolutely woeful. C Andrew Bynum probably shouldn't be involved in this series any longer, as he only played eight minutes in Game 3 and committed four fouls. F Lamar Odom had a pair of big games in Tinseltown but didn't ultimately come up with the right stuff on Sunday when he shot 4/14 from the floor and tallied just ten points. Jackson will have to be careful about letting his team become three-happy, as taking 32 triples as the Lakers did in Game 3 probably won't cut it again, particularly if they plan on converting just 28.1 percent of those shots as they did that night. F Pau Gasol has had three great games in this series, averaging 24.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, but unless he is going to get plenty of help from some other big men, LA could be in some trouble.

Phoenix Notes: The Suns ran, and ran, and continued to run some more against the Lakers on Sunday night, but it was the defense that finally showed at least a bit of a pulse that trimmed this series deficit in half. LA "only" shot 48.3 percent from the floor, which was by far its worst percentage of the Western Conference Finals. Forcing 17 turnovers was critical, because it kept the tempo of the game up. Phoenix held an 18-3 advantage in fast break points in the game, a stat that it usually dominates. Speaking of domination, what about that effort that F Amare Stoudemire had in Game 3? The big man his 14 of his 22 shots from the field and converted on 14 more free throws to ultimately end up with a playoff high 42 points to go with 11 boards. His partner in crime on the inside helped out as well, as C Robin Lopez scored 20 points. HC Alvin Gentry has to be worried about his bench, though. The unit hit just three shots from the floor in Game 3. C Channing Frye has been particularly miserable, as he is shooting just 1/20 in this series.

Current NBA Betting Odds: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Phoenix Suns Game 4

Sportsbook
LA Lakers
Phoenix Suns
Total
JustBet Sportsbook
-1
+1
219.5
Diamond Sportsbook
-1
+1
220
BetUS Sportsbook
-1.5
+1.5
220.5

Trends of Note: Phoenix is now 37-18-1 ATS in its L/56 home games. The Suns are also 34-16-1 ATS in their L/51 games overall and are a perfect 5-0 SU and ATS at US Airways Arena since losing to the Trail Blazers in the opening game of the postseason. Phoenix has covered four of its L/5 games as underdogs of less than five points and is 5-1 ATS in its L/6 games following an SU victory. As for the Lakers, they are 6-1 ATS in their L/7 games after scoring at least 100 points in their previous effort. They're also 5-1 ATS in their L/5 Western Conference Finals clashes, and are 4-1 ATS in their L/5 playoff betting affairs as favorites. In respect to the series between these teams, the home side is 8-1 ATS in the L/9 battles, while the favorite has covered four straight spreads.

The Final Word: Kobe and the gang aren't going to want to come back to Phoenix after they leave tonight. Winning Game 4 would be paramount for putting the Suns down once and for all. With the war of words going on between these two teams, giving Phoenix even a shred of hope in this series could be devastating. Expect the Lakers to come out and take care of business on the road, setting up what should be the fifth and final game of this series at Staples Center on Thursday night.

Free Picks: Los Angeles 106 – Phoenix 102

 
May 16th, 2010 By Andrew "Mr. Multi-Task" Ryan - Cappersinfo Contributor

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On Monday night, the Western Conference playoffs kick off with a great Game 1 matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Phoenix Suns.

Phoenix Suns (+6.5) @ Los Angeles Lakers
Monday May 17th, 2010
9:00 ET, Staples Center

Phoenix Notes: The Suns reached this point in the season in spite of the fact that few thought that they were deserving. The San Antonio Spurs were supposed to knock the men from the deserts out of the postseason in the second round, but instead of doing that, they were erased in the minimum four games. The Suns are run by G Steve Nash, who shot over 46 percent from downtown in the first two rounds of the playoffs. F Amare Stoudemire is about to have his biggest test of the postseason having to play a long series against the LA bigs . So far this postseason, Stoudemire has scored 20.5 points to go with 7.0 boards per game. The leading scorer in the playoffs for HC Alvin Gentry is G Jason Richardson at 21.5 points per game. The Suns are undefeated in these playoffs when he scores at least 20 points, and he has been a lethal shooter, capitalizing on 51.0 percent of his shots from the field overall and a blistering 51.5 percent from beyond the arc.

Los Angeles Notes: Remember when the Lakers fans were calling for G Kobe Bryant's head? All of a sudden, he has scored 30+ points in five straight games. To no one's surprise, LA is 5-0 in those five. After surviving that long series with the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Lakers came back and took the Utah Jazz out in four games as well. F Pau Gasol is going to have his work cut out for him in this series, as he hasn't had to run at this tempo or play against a team as physical on the inside as Phoenix could be with him. However, so far, Gasol has passed his tests with flying colors, averaging 20.2 points and 13.1 rebounds per game. C Andrew Bynum is still battling a knee injury, and though he is expected to play, HC Phil Jackson is very concerned that his young center might not be able to keep up at this tempo with his ailment.

NBA Betting Odds: Phoenix Suns vs. Los Angeles Lakers Game 1

Sportsbook
Total
JustBet Sportsbook
+6
-6
210.5
Diamond Sportsbook
+6.5
-6.5
210.5
BetUS Sportsbook
+6
-6
210.5

Trends of Note: The regular season series ended three games to one both SU and ATS in favor of the Lakers. The Suns are 20-6 ATS in their L/26 games against teams with a winning percentage of at least .600. They're also 20-8-1 ATS in their L/29 following an SU victory. However, when playing on at least three days of rest, they're only 6-13-1 ATS in their L/20. The Lakers are only 3-11 ATS in their L/14 games following an ATS victory and just 3-8 ATS in their L/11 divisional games. However, they are 5-1 ATS in their L/6 overall since Game 5 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals.

The Final Word: If the Suns can get out of the blocks in a hurry and force the pace of this game, this could be a great spot for an upset. With as many days off as these two teams have had, pretty much anything could happen. We're still not convinced that the Lakers are that much better than the Suns are, and we're going to hope that the visitors can find a way to eke out a very close Game 1. The tempo of this series will be set with an upset, as Los Angeles is going to be behind the 8-ball in a hurry.

Prediction: Phoenix 111 – Los Angeles 108