JR O'Donnell
3* LA Lakers- 7
"Lakers baby" get our call and tonight's public darling is the Phoenix Suns and we will roll the other way tonight with the Phil Jackson's Lake Show. The Big three Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom will dominate again as the lake show is humming right now . They are now scoring in bunches right now and have put up 113 the last 5 games. The public will look for a Suns bounce back and grab the 7. Defense , rebounding and protecting the rock will be 3 huge factors that all point to a 10 to 15 point W tonight, off a smooth Celtics win last night we will now play the Lake Show - 7. The Lakers are 6-2-1 ATS in their last 9 games when they put up 125 points or more in their previous game.
Scott Delaney
100 Dime Lakers
Nick "BookieKiller" Parsons
8* Suns / Lakers 215.5
For a number of different reasons I believe the value in this contest is on the "under"
Phoenix is coming off its largest loss in four months; suffice to say I expect a much more concerted effort from this team, especially on the defensive end.
If it has any chance at winning this series it has to slow down Lakers that said, LA was on fire in Game 1, with seemingly every shot finding the bottom of the bucket.
Kobe will get his points, but Phoenix has to slow down the supporting cast “We’ve just got to make sure we box him out,” said Amare Stoudemire, who managed just three rebounds while Odom set a career playoff high on the boards. “I think I focused so much on (Pau) Gasol and (Andrew) Bynum to where he sneaked in there and got 19 boards.”
Keep in mind that the total has in fact gone "under" the number in six of the Suns last eight on the road overall.
On the other side of the court: LA knows the Suns will come out aggressively on the defensive side of the ball.
The Lakers will look to duplicate their effort on the defensive end once again which forced the Suns to hurry their shots.
It's very important to note that LA has seen the total go "under" the number in 21 of 30 games this season after three or more consecutive "SU" victories.
Bottom line: I look for Game 2 to "switch gears" as each team focuses on its defense to create offense for it 8* O/U *ROUT JOB* on the UNDER!
Scott Delaney
100 Dime Lakers
Watching Game 1 of this series, it’s become clear that questions surrounding Kobe Bryant's health and the Lakers' bench were put to rest as the defending champs pummeled the Suns 128-107 Monday night.
Bryant, who's dealt with a bum ankle, a broken finger and a swollen knee this postseason, scored 21 of his 40 points in the third quarter amid chants of "M-V-P!" inside the Staples Center, as he led the Lakers to a 1-0 lead in the Western Conference Finals. The Black Mamba has hit 52.2 percent of his shots during this span.
Bryant's performance marked the first time he's scored 30 or more points in six straight playoff games, and it’s also clear the Lakers used the time off after their Western Conference semifinal series with Utah to rejuvenate themselves for the conference finals.
Just look at the supporting cast …
While Andrew Bynum struggled to finish with four points and four boards, Lamar Odom provided a huge boost off the bench, scoring 19 points and grabbing 19 boards, a playoff career-high. Odom stepped up and scored seven straight during an 18-4 Lakers-run in the first quarter.
Pau Gasol added 21 points, four rebounds and two blocks in his 37 minutes on the court. Gasol went 10-for-13 from the floor. Shannon Brown had nine points.
I don’t see much changing for Game 2, as the Lakers will be geared up to duplicate their feat, and open up a 2-0 lead, not to mention monopolizing all the momentum with the series heading to Phoenix.
Lay the chalk with Los Angeles.
Chris Jordan
1000* LA Lakers -7
DAVID MALINSKY
4* CINCINNATI over ATLANTA
The Reds are a better team than Atlanta, and Aaron Harang is better than Kenshin Kawakami. That makes the underdog return difficult to pass up.
Harang’s 2-5/6.02 bottom line plays a big part in this price, but we see much better stuff from the former staff ace than those base numbers. For the season he sports an excellent ratio of 41 K’s vs. only 10 W’s over 46.1 innings, and in four of his last six outings his ground out to fly out ratio was 2:1 or better. He is also getting stronger by the start, with 26 K’s vs. four W’s over his last four outings. But he has been hurt by a couple of categories that can correct – a 61.0 percent strand rate will get better, and of the 137 pitchers that have worked at least 30 innings his BABIP of .365 is at #8. That will gradually come down, and an unimposing Atlanta offense provides the opportunity for him to get right back on his game. And with Francisco Cordero (13 saves) rested and ready, the latter stages are in good hands.
We are not sure that Kawakami has a game. At the age of 35, and lacking a lot of pop, he has to be able to fool hitters to be successful, and in his second Major League campaign he has not been able to fool anyone – his 0-6/5.79 basically tells the tale. Neither his K or ground ball rates are high enough for long-term success, and in three of his seven starts his PPI was 19.2 or higher, which shows that the command is nothing special either. So just what is there to make a team with a losing record and a below average pitcher the favorite’s against one of the hottest teams in the game? Only Harang’s misleading bottom line. Yet he is still better than Kawakami, and the team behind him has out-paced the Atlanta lineup by 14 runs, 75 total bases, 12 home runs and 12 steals.
Rocketman
3* Oakland
2* Washington
ATS Lock Club
4 Units Suns +7
4 Units Red Sox -125
4 Units Tigers -120
Tony George
LA Lakers -6.5
Detroit Tigers -120
Rocketman
3* Oakland
2* Washington
Should be
4* Oakland
3* Washington
Dr Baseball Guaranteed Selections
TRIPLE PLAY BASEBALL WINNER
Boston w/Buchholz -126
HOME RUN BASEBALL DOMINATOR
St Louis w/Garcia -169
GRAND SLAM BASEBALL DOMINATOR
Texas w/Harden -165
Ben Burns
10* Lakers Under
10* Seattle
8* Arizona
Fantasy Gametime Sports
100* Phoenix +7
Dave Cokin
Matchup: L.A. Angels at Chi. White Sox
Time: 8:10 PM EDT (Wed)
Listed pitchers must go: (L) SAUNDERS, J vs. (L) DANKS, J
Play: L.A. Angels (ML +133)
It's not going at all well for the Angels. They're struggling on the road and just lost a pair of important divisional tilts to Texas. But one bright light for the Halos of late has been the return to form of lefty Joe Saunders. He's finally back to good health, and Saunders has been very sharp in each of his last two starts. When it comes to road warriors, there aren't many better, as Saunders owns a stellar 26-11 career record on the road. That includes a 2-0, 1.66 ledger at this site. John Danks is very tough, but if you're going to beat the southpaw, it's generally at home, where he's simply not been as effective as when he's wearing the road uniform. The White Sox have the better bullpen, but their offense continues to be less than impressive. I'm going as much on the eye test as anything else here, as I really feel as though the buy signal is there for Saunders. But beyond that, I also like the value here in taking the Angels at good plus money in a contest that they have a good chance to win.
ATS Financial
4 Units LA Lakers Over 215