Bring the brooms for Monday NBA action
Doug Upstone
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.
BetUS.com has Utah as 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.