The Prez
Phoenix Suns at Los Angeles Lakers
Play: Phoenix Suns +3
Kobe Bryant’s return to form will take a while, and likely won't be what it was when the Lakers were dangerous. Bryant scored just nine points on 2-of-9 shooting and committed eight turnovers as the Lakers lost to the Toronto Raptors on Sunday in his first outing since tearing his Achilles’ tendon last April. Bryant admitted he was rusty and said his rhythm was “completely out of sync.”
Bryant played 28 minutes in his season debut which has forced head coach Mike D’Antoni to sacrifice effenciency for getting Bryant into game shape. Wth that said the underdog Suns are playing some of their best basketball posting back-to-back victories in a road win at Houston and home tilt versus Toronto which was a 106-97 win over the Raptors last Friday. This type of layoff can be a hinderence for some teams but tonight it is a major plus when they take the Staples court against a Lakers squad that has one of the better benches in the league -- and a rested Suns reserve lineup has a chance to stop the backups for LA.
The Suns are getting production from every player on their roster, especially forward Markieff Morris who is flourishing in his third season. The former Jayhawk score 25 points on 11-of-14 shooting to go with 11 rebounds and he has scored 23 or more five times this season coming off the pine.
Bryant return to the lineup created an even larger discrepency for points scored by starters compared to those of the bench. The Los Angeles reserves scored 71 points against the Raptors to increase their league-leading average to 48.1 per game. All five reserves that played scored in double figures, led by Nick Young’s 19 points. The Suns matchup as well as any team in the league against the LA backups.
EZWINNERS
Evansville +10
I like this spot for the Purple Aces. Xavier has a big game coming up this weekend in the Crosstown Shootout with Cincinnati and might get caught looking ahead in this one. Evansville is not a great team, but they do have a star player in sophomore guard DJ Balentine who is averaging 24.9 points per game. Xavier has had trouble stopping Iowa's Roy Devyn Marble who destroyed the Musketeers and Bowling Green's Richaun Holmes who also torched Xavier on Saturday. Balentine is a better scorer than both of those guys and is capable of keeping the Purple Aces well within this number. Xavier has also let a lot of teams back into games this year after getting off to big leads. I don't expect the Musketeers to be fully focused for this one. Take the points.
Harry Bondi
INDIANA -3.5 over Miami
The defending champion Heat seem to be going through the motions here in the early stages of the season as they battle some nagging injuries. That doesn't bode well tonight against a Pacers team that plays superior team defense and is getting an All-World season from Paul George. The home team is 4-0 ATS in the last four meetings between these two teams and the Heat have gone just 1-4 ATS in their last five games against the Pacers. It might not be the case come June, but right now Indiana is the better team and this number is short. Lay it.
OC Dooley
Bradley -5.5
Tonight is the final HOME game for Bradley in an EIGHTEEN day span which makes this particular contest critical for a team that has spent an inordinate amount of time on foreign hardwood. Tonight they host IPFW (Indiana-Purdue of Fort Wayne) who operates out of the Summit League. All time when HOSTING an opponent from the Summit League, the Bradley Braves are a sizzling “27-3”. Bradley’s head coach is Geno Ford who tonight is seeking to pick up career victory #150 which adds even more intrigue. In the coaching career of Ford when off a dismal 1-2 ATS stretch, his teams have responded with an outstanding “13-3” ATS record at HOME