Lakers and Jazz Series Betting Preview
By Doug Upstone
The NBA playoff scheduling often times borders on the ridiculous as Los Angeles and Utah won Game 6 matchups in their respective series and start the next round less than 48 hours later, while Phoenix and San Antonio completed their first round series the day prior and don’t play until a day later. However it’s not like the Lakers and Jazz aren’t familiar with one another with four regular season contests and meeting in the playoffs the last two years. For individual games, the home team is 18-8-1 ATS when these two get together. Series price courtesy of Sportsbook.com.
(1) L.A. Lakers vs. (5) Utah
The Lakers were shown to have various weaknesses by Oklahoma City who was less than a second away from pushing Los Angeles to a seventh game, but Pau Gasol was in the right place at the right time and the defending NBA champions moved forward. Can offensive-minded Utah finish what the Thunder couldn’t?
Phil Jackson’s squad played four games to find out they needed to play like a team. This meant getting everyone involved in the offense and for Kobe Bryant to be patient with his teammates even when they were doing the team a disservice.
Russell Westbrook drove the Lakers crazy and Deron Williams can to the same, just in a different manner. Williams does not have Westbrook’s quickness, making it somewhat easier for Lakers big guys to rotate quicker on penetration. Look for coach Jackson to throw the kitchen sink at Williams, with Derek Fisher, Shannon Brown, Jordan Farmar and Kobe Bryant all taking turns to see what works in controlling him. If all else fails even Ron Artest could be looking in Deron’s eyes.
Gasol has the length to bother Carlos Boozer, who scored 12 points or less in three of their four matchups. This would be a huge negative for the Jazz who needs another big time scorer to keep pace with Williams.
Lamar Odom and Ron Artest have to bring more to the dance against Utah. Odom is your ultimate space cadet, playing only when he’s in the mood. Artest could be a bigger factor offensively since he doesn’t have a player of Kevin Durant’s scoring ability to worry about and though CJ Miles can have outbursts, he’s not in Durant’s area code.
Utah lost three of four to the Lakers this season and has been ousted from the postseason by L.A. the last two years. Since March 14 of last season, the Jazz have 2-8 SU and ATS record against the Lakers, with the average loss being by 14.2 per game. What can Utah do to turn the tide?
Williams needs to have similar numbers as what he had against Denver (25.8 points and 11.3 assists). This won’t be easy since the Lakers are much better defensively. That means rookie Wesley Matthews has to become an X-factor. He has to total 15 or more points per game, forcing the Lakers to use Bryant to guard him.
Paul Millsap was outstanding off the bench (17.3 PPG) against the Nuggets and similar contributions will be required. Utah forward Andrei Kirilenko could be available for Game 2 in this Western semifinal, however most reports have the first contest in Salt Lake City as more realistic estimate.
The Jazz could cover a good number of spreads in this series if Los Angeles is disinterested, but have to get over the mental part of defeating the Lakers in attempting to win games. Utah is 2-8 ATS playoff games as an underdog of 5.0-10.5, but the Lake Show is just as miserable at home with recent 4-10-1 ATS mark at the Staples Center.
If the Lakers learned one thing from playing Oklahoma City, it was they could play possession by possession in slower paced contests and still survive. Utah’s style is more to their liking and they already have the confidence to knock them off and will do so.
Pick- L.A. Lakers (-400) in five over Utah (+300)