POWER PLAY WINS
Cleveland Indians -110
Matt Fargo
9* Hornets / Lakers Under 188
Game One finished with 209 points scored which was easily the most points these teams have combined for in the five meetings this season. That last game had a closing total of 182.5 and going into the second game, it has shot up five points and in some cases even more which is based on that result. I think that is too big of a move and while the number is still pretty low, we should see an opposite type of game tonight as opposed to the shootout that was on display in Game One. This one will be determined by the Lakers defense. They allowed 52 points in the paint and as mentioned in the other analysis, it came down to the play of Pau Gasol who blamed himself for the disappointing result. "I know when I have to be more aggressive and I know when I just have to be more productive out there. I wasn't able to do that in Game One," Gasol said. "It's more my fault than their credit." He stressed being more productive and that also refers to being more productive on the defensive side. Chris Paul was a big factor in Game One and the Lakers will need to slow him down. He finished with 33 points on 11-18 shooting and as a team, the Hornets shot 51.9 percent from the floor. This included a 2-13 night from Trevor Azira so take that away and they shot an insane 59.1 percent against the fifth best regular season defense in the NBA. Lakers assistant coach Jim Cleamons said they need to slow down Paul which means at times they may trap, push him farther out on the court and switch defenders on him. While covering this number and having the game go 'under' at the same time may seem extremely tough, this has been a profitable situation as the 'under' is 12-3 in the Lakers last 15 games as a favorite of 11 points or more. Also, the 'under' is 29-12 in the Hornets last 41 games when their opponent allows 100 points or more in their previous game and the 'under' is 23-12 in their last 35 games coming off an upset win as an underdog. The Lakers are 24-13 to the 'under' in their last 37 games revenging a same season loss.
SUPER SPORTS GROUP
9* Cubs +106
9* Arizona +145
Wayne Root
Millionaires - Lakers
Billionaire - Spurs
The Duke's Sports
New Orleans Over (187') for 2 Units
This series has gone 20-8 O/U and 10-3 O/U in Los Angeles. The Hornets were getting outstanding looks at the basket in Game 1 and converted. Saturday, the Lakers defense was virtually non-existent and we don't see a significant overhaul in defensive strategy for the Lakers' were a step slow in execution. We have seen this many times throughout the regular season with Los Angeles. The Lakers, however, do have offensive weaponry that can gouge the heart of the Hornets' defense and should find better offensive looks tonight. The Lakers are 8-3-1 O/U as a playoff favorite while the Hornets are 5-1 O/U in their last 6 road tilts. The Hornets' bench players -- Jack, Green, Gray (ankle sprain) were getting great looks. We'll ride the "over" here.
Ben Burns
Tampa Bay Lightning -145
The Lightning find themselves down 2-1. Not technically a "must win" game but the Tampa players know they can ill afford to go down 3-1. I expect them to respond accordingly.
Give the Penguins credit, they've continued to play very well without their top offensive weapons. I do still feel that playing without Crosby will eventually catch up to them though - and I expect that to happen tonight.
The Lightning also had their backs against the wall, after dropping the first game. In that case, they bounced back with a 5-1 victory.
As Tampa Bay captain Vincent Lecavalier said: "We know what we did wrong, the mistakes we made on the ice. We've just got to rebound, reload and make sure we're ready."
Look for LeCavalier and co. to be "ready," as they were in Game 2, and for them to improve 12-5 (+9.5) the last 17 times that they were trailing in a playoff series.
Ben Burns
Tampa Bay Lightning -145
Philadelphia Flyers Under 5.5
Phoenix Coyotes Under 5.5