Street Rosenthal
*300 Oakland A's -145
Steve Budin
50 Dime Teaser
Lakers & Over
WAYNE ROOT
Billionaire - LA Dodgers
Tony George
Boston +6
Gonna take the Celtics here in Game 2 to play better. Lots of bulletin board material here and saying Garnett is washed up is not true. Boston did not play stingy defense and they will in this one. I think LA has a lot tougher time in this one getting a win, Boston was just flat in game 1 here and the backcourt could not put them in from the outside. All Boston starters had double digits in points in game one, look for them to step it up here. Play 1 Unit on Boston.
The Duke's Sports
Boston Under (191') for 2.5 Units
Now that Rivers and his staff had a few days to find better ways to cut off lanes, box out, and switch adjust, we'll look for a greater defensive effort from Boston. The Celtics are 0-5-1 O/U after they allow 100+. On the other hand,, the Lakers are 6-21 O/U on 2 days rest. This series is 1-5 O/U in Los Angeles and we expect heightened defensive intensity on both ends of the floor.
Nick "BookieKiller" Parsons
10* Celtics / Lakers Over 190.5
Analysis: For a number of different reasons I believe the value in this contest is on the over
I had the over in Game 1, and the total stayed under the number by a 1/2 point a big reason is that the Lakers held the Celtics to just 89 points.
Boston is going to have to put some points on the board tonight if it doesn't want to go back to Boston down 2-0You learn a lot about yourself when you lose Kevin Garnett said. You learn a lot about yourself when you’re down. This shows what you’re made of.
Very important to note that Boston has seen the total go over the posted number in 8 of 12 games this season after a loss by 10 point or more which means of course that after a sub par effort, this team comes out and plays with a concerted effort on the offensive end.
On the other side of the court: Kobe Bryant did an excellent job of slowing down Rajon Rondo; keep in mind though that Rondo destroyed Cleveland and Orlando in consecutive playoff series suffice to say I expect Rondo to come out with a different strategy this evening.
Keep in mind that the total has in fact gone over the posted number in 10 of the Lakers last 15 overall; also in 5 of their last 7 in front of the home town crowd.
Bottom line: The C's ended up with post-season lows in field goals (29) and attempts (67)Rondo is not going to get going if we don’t get stops Doc Rivers said. Our offense is directly connected to our defense. Every team’s is, for the most part, if you want to run. If we’re going to take the ball out of bounds, if they’re going to shoot free throws, they’re going to get second shots, Rondo is not going to be in the open court. If we can get multiple stops, we can get multiple runs.
No need to over analyze this contest; I expect the Celtics to come out with a much more concerted effort and look for the Lakers to match their intensity; as a result, play on the OVER!
Matt Fargo
10* Celtics +6