Game Of The Day: Jazz at Lakers
By Marc Lawrence
Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals between the Lakers and the Jazz tips off at the Staples Center in Los Angeles Tuesday. Los Angeles is up 1-0 in the series on the heels of Sunday’s 104-99 over Utah.
OK Kobe
Kobe Bryant is playing and feeling better. He was highly efficient, 12-for-19 from the field and 7-for-7 from the line in Sunday’s squeaker over the Jazz.
More important, Bryant made a statement with a 13-point fourth quarter when the Lakers had to rally to beat Utah after entering the final period with an eight-point lead.
After failing to draw a single free-throw attempt in the first three quarters, Bryant finished with 31 points and reported in his postgame news conference that his sore right knee is improved.
"I was able to move around," Bryant said, noting that the game Sunday afternoon came after the Lakers played Game 6 in Oklahoma City Friday night. "It's encouraging for me."
The Lakers have an obvious advantage in talent over the Utah Jazz in this Western Conference semifinal, and Bryant knows it.
"We're big, too. So we've had mismatches all over the floor, including with Ron (Artest). So we just have to be patient and try not to overdo it."
15 and counting
Sunday’s 5-point setback signaled the 15th loss in a row at Staples Center for the Jazz, including eight in the regular season and seven in the playoffs. The margin of defeat was the shortest during this span.
The absence of Mehmet Okur and Andrei Kirilenko hurt them visibly, especially with the Lakers' size advantage inside. Kyrylo Fesenko was a total zero.
"We've got to work with what we've got," Utah forward Carlos Boozer told reporters. "That's just the bottom line, there's no secret to it. They've got more big guys that we have, so we've got to do what we've got to do. No excuses.
"We know we're David and we know they're Goliath. All we can do is give it everything we've got and go from there."
During the current 15-game slide at Staples, Utah has surrendered more than 100 points the last 14 games in a row.
Even scarier is Utah’s 3-33 SU and 11-24 ATS mark on the playoff road in games in which it has allowed more than 100 points since 1991.
Purple passive
Taking a cue from the manic fans in Oklahoma City, Los Angeles handed out thousands of white T-shirts in an attempt at a “whiteout” crowd to go with the Lakers’ Sunday white uniforms.
It didn’t work as the majority of fans didn’t bother to put on the shirts, which prompted one fan in attendance to comment, “What a shame. Imagine if our fans would actually gave a shit.”
Zen master
Along with the Bulls in Michael Jordan’s glory days, the Lakers have excelled with Phil Jackson in the sidelines during the NBA playoffs.
The owner of a 215-93 career mark in the postseason, Jackson is indeed the master at winning big games. That’s confirmed by his brilliant 45-0 series record after winning Game 1 of a playoff series.
For all of his success, though, his Lakers’ teams have not been moneymakers during the playoffs. He is 103-52 SU and 73-75-7 ATS with Los Angeles after the regular season, including 67-13 SU and 34-41-5 ATS at home.
The Lakers are 19-10 SU and 10-17-2 ATS in Game 2’s under Jackson.
Stat of the game
Utah is 22-3 SU and 21-4 ATS this season in games off a loss when facing a non-division opponent.
NBA PLAYOFFS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlanta (4-3 SU and ATS) at Orlando (4-0 SU, 3-1 ATS)
The defending Eastern Conference champion Magic continue their run for back-to-back conference titles when they open their best-of-7 semifinal series against the rival Hawks inside Amway Arena.
The Magic have been idle since wrapping up a 4-0 sweep (3-1 ATS) of the Bobcats on April 26, waiting for the Hawks to complete their seven-game series against the Bucks. Atlanta completed its rally from a 3-2 series deficit by blowing out Milwaukee in Sunday’s decisive Game 7, winning 95-74 and easily cashing as an 8½-point favorite. They held the Bucks to 32.6 percent shooting and got 22 points from Sixth-Man-of-the-Year Jamal Crawford, while All-Star Al Horford chipped in 16 points and 15 rebounds.
Orlando took three of four SU and ATS in the season series with the Hawks, and the Magic have won and covered in six of the last seven meetings dating to January 2009. Additionally, Orlando has won and cashed in four of five at home against the Hawks, including two January blowouts: 104-86 as a 5½-point favorite and 113-81 as a 3½-point chalk.
Atlanta is 20-24 SU (24-20 ATS) on the highway this season (1-2 SU and ATS in the playoffs), averaging 98.4 ppg on 46 percent shooting, while allowing 97.9 ppg (46.4 percent shooting). Orlando won its two first-round home games against Charlotte (1-1 ATS) to improve to 36-7 at home (25-17-1 ATS). The Magic have won nine straight (6-2-1 ATS) and 15 of their last 16 (11-4-1 ATS) inside Amway Arena.
The Hawks, who were swept out of the Eastern Conference semifinals a season ago by the Cavaliers (0-3-1 ATS), are 0-5-1 ATS in their last six as a playoff ‘dog, but they’re also on ATS surges of 7-3 overall, 5-1 after a spread-cover, 11-4 against winning teams, 22-8-1 as an underdog of five to 10 ½ points and 7-3 against the Eastern Conference. The Magic are on a plethora of positive ATS runs, including 19-7-1 overall, 5-1-1 at home (all as a chalk), 21-6-1 as a favorite, 8-1 after a straight-up win and 21-6 against Eastern Conference teams.
Atlanta has topped the total in four of five on the road, 16 of 21 after a straight-up win and nine of 11 on the road against teams with a winning home record, but it is on “under” runs of 4-1 after just one day off, 7-2 as a playoff underdog, 7-3 on Tuesday and 19-7 as a ‘dog of five to 10 ½ points. Orlando is on “over” runs of 4-1-1 at home and 4-1-1 after three or more days off, but is also on “under” streaks of 6-0-1 on Tuesday, 4-0 in conference semifinal games, 4-1-1 as a playoff favorite, 29-14-2 as a favorite overall and 11-5-1 against Southeast Division rivals.
In this rivalry, the “under” has been the play in five straight meetings, including all four this season.
ATS ADVANTAGE: ORLANDO and UNDER
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Utah (4-3 SU, 5-2 ATS) at L.A. Lakers (5-2 SU, 3-4 ATS)
The defending NBA champion Lakers look to take a 2-0 lead over the fifth-seeded Jazz when the two square off for Game 2 of their best-of-7 Western Conference semifinal series inside the Staples Center.
Los Angeles surrendered a big fourth-quarter lead in Game 1 on Sunday only to rally back in the final four minutes and score a 104-99 victory, falling just short as a seven-point chalk. Kobe Bryant led the way with 31 points and Pau Gasol added 25 points and 12 rebounds as the hot-shooting Lakers shot 53.2 percent from the floor and outrebounded the Jazz 43-28.
L.A. has now won three straight playoff contests (2-1 ATS), and it is 4-0 at home in the playoffs (3-1 ATS). Meanwhile, Utah fell to 1-3 SU and ATS on the highway in the postseason.
The Jazz and Lakers met in the first round of the postseason last year with Los Angeles prevailing in five games (2-3 ATS) en route to the NBA title. Additionally, the Lakers won a six-game second-round playoff series from Utah two years ago. This year, L.A. took three of the four regular-season meetings (SU and ATS), including two easy wins and covers in Hollywood, capped by a 106-92 victory on April 2 as a 4½-point favorite.
Los Angeles is on a 19-6 roll against the Jazz overall (15-9-1 ATS) and it has won 15 consecutive meetings at the Staples Center (11-4 ATS). Also, despite Utah’s spread-cover in Game 1, the home team has cashed in 18 of the last 28 head-to-head clashes.
Utah is 22-23 (25-18-1 ATS) on the road this season and just 5-7 (6-6 ATS) in its last 12 on the highway. Los Angeles has gone 38-7 inside Staples Center, but just 18-25-2 ATS, despite outscoring the opposition by more than eight ppg (103.5-94.8).
The Jazz are just 2-6 ATS in their last eight as road ‘dogs, 4-8 ATS in their last 12 on the road against teams with winning home records and 5-17-1 ATS in their last 23 as ‘dogs of five to 10½ points, but they are on positive pointspread surges of 36-16-3 overall (5-1 last six) and 5-0 with just one day off. The Lakers are 11-6-1 ATS in their last 18 conference semifinal games, but otherwise they carry several negative pointspread trends, including 3-7 overall (all against the Western Conference), 8-18-1 as a favorite, 4-11-1 at home (all as a favorite), 7-18-2 after a day off, 5-15-1 after a straight-up win, 5-11 on Tuesday
Utah is 5-1-1 “under” in its last six against Pacific Division foes, but from there it is on “over” streaks of 6-1 overall (4-0 last four), 5-1 on the road (4-0 last four), 40-19-1 as an underdog, 36-16-1 as a road ‘dog, 9-3 as a playoff pup, 7-3 on Tuesday and 5-1 after one day off. On the flip side, it’s been all “unders” for Los Angeles lately, including 12-5 at home (all as a chalk), 20-8 as a favorite, 24-10 against Northwest Division teams, 7-1 against winning teams and 4-1 in conference semifinal games. However, the Lakers have topped the total in four of their past five overall in these playoffs.
Finally, these teams had stayed under the total in seven consecutive meetings – including the final three playoff contests last year – before Game 1 crept past the total. So the over has now been the play in 13 of the last 18 clashes in California.
ATS ADVANTAGE: UNDER
Jazz at Lakers, Game 2
By Brian Edwards
Los Angeles (62-27 straight up, 36-50-2 against the spread) will try to take a 2-0 series lead over Utah in tonight’s Game 2 at Staples Center for the Western Conference semifinals. Las Vegas Sports Consultants opened the Lakers as six-point favorites with a total of 200 ½. As of early this morning, most betting shops still had the Lakers at six with the total reduced to 199 or 199 ½.
Bettors can back Utah (57-32 SU, 54-32-3 ATS) to win outright for a plus-250 return (risk $100 to win $250).
Although Phil Jackson’s team won Game 1 by a 104-99 count Sunday, it failed to hook up its backers as a seven-point home favorite. The 203 combined points slipped ‘over’ the 198 ½-point total.
Kobe Bryant scored a game-high 31 points, while Pau Gasol exploded for 25 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots. Deron Williams led the Jazz with 24 points and eight assists, while Carlos Boozer finished with 18 points and 12 boards.
L.A. gave up a double-digit lead and found itself trailing at crunch time. However, Bryant scored 11 of his 31 in the last four minutes of the final stanza to carry the Lakers into the win column.
Jerry Sloan’s squad worked a double-digit deficit down to a small number early in the fourth quarter, and then it took the lead to give the Hollywood crowd some tense moments at crunch time. But Kobe proved to be too much, getting a 3-point play the hard way with less than two minutes left thanks to a phantom call and a no-whistle when Bryant bulldozed his way through rookie Wesley Matthews (who seemed to take a clean charge) at the elbow.
Utah’s Andrei Kirilenko practiced with the team yesterday and told the media it was ’50-50’ whether or not he’d play in Game 2. Kirilenko has been out of the lineup in 22 of his team’s last 24 games due to a calf injury. He averages 11.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.2 blocked shots per game. Kirilenko hasn’t played in the postseason yet.
The ‘over’ has cashed in four consecutive Utah games and six of its last seven. For the season, the Jazz have watched the ‘over’ go 49-38-2 overall, 25-19-1 in its road assignments.
The Lakers, who have limped to an 18-25-2 spread record at home this season, have seen the ‘under’ go 49-39-1 overall, 25-19-1 in their home outings.
The ‘under’ has prevailed in seven of the last eight head-to-head meetings between these teams.
TNT will have television coverage at 10:35 p.m. Eastern.
**B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets**
LVSC opened Phoenix as a four-point ‘chalk’ for Wednesday’s Game 2 of its Western Conference semifinals series against San Antonio. As of late this morning, most spots had the Suns adjusted to 2 1/2-point favorites with a total of 205 ½.
Steve Nash scored 33 points and dished out 11 assists to lead Phoenix to a 111-102 Game 1 win over the Spurs last night. Jason Richardson continued his stellar postseason play by scoring 27 points, while Amare Stoudemire went for 23 points and 13 rebounds.
Gregg Popovich’s team trailed by 10 at intermission, only to rally back into the lead late in the third quarter. The Suns bounced back to build a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter, only to see the Spurs rally to within one on Manu Ginobli’s runner with 4:26 left. Nevertheless, Phoenix pulled away to get ahead of the number and cash tickets.
Suns center Robin Lopez, who hasn’t played since May 26 due to a bulging disc in his back, did not play in Game 1 but does expect to eventually be available in this series.
Check out the Celtics, who drilled Cleveland last night 104-86 as 6 1/2-point road underdogs in Game 2. With the series tied at 1-1, Game 3 will be Friday in Boston on ESPN. Most books are listing the C's as 1 1/2-point favorites with a total of 191.
vegasinsider.com
NBA News and Notes
Orlando won first three meetings vs Hawks this year by 17-32-18, then lost by hoop in Atlanta March 24. All four games stayed under the total. Magic swept Bobcats in first series, could be little rusty playing against Atlanta team that was only 7-game winner in first round- they played on Sunday, so they're running on adrenaline. Hawks lost two of three road games in first round against Milwaukee.
Lakers won four of five vs Utah this season; LA's Game 1 win was first series meeting this year that went over. Lakers shot 53% in first game, as Bryant was 12-19 from floor, and Gasol blocked five shots. Lakers are 4-0 in playoffs at home, winning by 8-3-24-5 points. Utah lost three of its four playoff road games. Boozer was 9-17 from floor in Game 1 but didn't get to foul line. Jazz has get to foul line more than 21 times.
Tips and Trends
Atlanta Hawks at Orlando Magic
Hawks: Atlanta believed they were one of the best teams in the East all season long. The Hawks are breathing a big sigh of relief, considering they were pushed to 7 games by the Bucks. Atlanta faced elimination twice against the Bucks, and the Hawks are now saying that was a good thing for them moving forward. Atlanta is a very talented team, and they appear to be more focused than ever thanks to Milwaukee. Atlanta lost 3 of their 4 games SU and ATS to the Magic this year, by a combined 67 PTS. Atlanta is hoping their new-found focus will make them more competitive in this series. G Joe Johnson leads the Hawks in scoring this postseason, averaging 20.9 PPG. C Al Horford is averaging 15.6 PPG and nearly 10 RPG this postseason, and will have the enviable task of matching up with Dwight Howard. Atlanta has 5 players averaging at least 11 PPG this postseason, proving just how balanced this offense really is. Atlanta is 57-32 SU and 52-37 ATS overall this season. Atlanta is 20-24 SU and 23-20-1 ATS on the road this season. The Hawks are 3-0 ATS as a road underdog between 6.5 and 9 PTS this season. C Dwight Howard has been in foul trouble so far this postseason, yet he is anxious to play against his hometown team.
Hawks are 5-0 ATS last 5 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
Over is 7-1 last 8 games as a road underdog.
Key Injuries - None.
PROJECTED SCORE: 95 (Side of the Day)
Magic (-9, O/U 192): Orlando feels like they are just starting the playoffs again, as they've been off for a full 8 days. The Magic swept the Bobcats, yet had to wait for the Hawks to get past the Bucks in 7 games. Coach Van Gundy has his work cut out for him, as he looks to keep his team motivated during their layoff. The Magic have dominated the Hawks this season, going 3-1 both SU and ATS against them. Orlando has been playing great defense, as they have held their opposition to 90 PTS or fewer in each of their past 4 games. Their defensive effort along with a sound offense is a big reason why they've won their past 10 games entering tonight. Orlando is 63-23 SU and 49-35-2 ATS overall this season. The Magic haven't played at home in 13 days, yet they are 36-7 SU and 24-17-2 ATS in home games this season. The Magic are 43-30 ATS as the listed favorite this season. PG Jameer Nelson is averaging 23.8 PPG so far this postseason, easily leading the Magic.
Magic are 8-1 ATS last 9 games following a SU win.
Under is 5-0 last 5 vs. a team with a winning SU record.
Key Injuries - G Jameer Nelson (stomach) is probable.
G Mickael Pietrus (ankle) is questionable.
PROJECTED SCORE: 97
Utah Jazz at Los Angeles Lakers
Jazz: Utah played the Lakers tough in Game 1, and they had a chance to steal not only the game but also home court advantage. The Jazz have struggled mightily at the Staples Center, so many Utah fans feel they missed their golden opportunity. Utah had great balance offensively in Game 1, as they had 5 players score at least 14 PTS. PG Deron Williams was his usual spectacular self, as he led the Jazz with 24 PTS and 8 assists. F Carlos Boozer had 18 PTS and 12 rebounds in Game 1, yet didn't attempt a single free throw. Utah only made 5 of their 18 three point attempts in Game 1, a stat they must improve on to win this series. The Jazz are 57-32 SU and 54-32-3 ATS overall this season. The Jazz are 22-23 SU and 25-19-1 ATS on the road this season. Utah is 14-12 ATS as the listed underdog this season, including 5-5 ATS as a road underdog between 3.5 and 6 PTS. Utah is an impressive 28-18 ATS this year against teams with a winning record. The Jazz are 31-20 ATS this season against teams that are averaging more than 99 PPG.
Jazz are 21-6 ATS last 27 games following a SU loss.
Over is 5-0 last 5 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
Key Injuries - G Deron Williams (ankle) is probable.
F Andrei Kirilenko (calf) is questionable.
PROJECTED SCORE: 89
Lakers (-6, O/U 199.5): Los Angeles got out to a quick start in Game 1, as they led 30-23 at the end of the 1st Quarter. The Jazz were a tough competitor though, as they played the Lakers close nearly the entire game. The Lakers actually lost their lead in the final quarter, yet used G Kobe Bryant's brilliance to win Game 1. Bryant finished with 31 PTS, shooting an efficient 12 of 19 from the field. F Pau Gasol also had a great game, as he had 25 PTS and 12 rebounds. Gasol and Bryant combined to go a perfect 14 of 14 from the free throw line in Game 1. The Lakers are 5-2 SU so far during the playoffs, yet they are only 3-4 ATS in the same span. C Andrew Bynum is averaging 11.4 PPG and nearly 10 RPG this postseason, despite battling injury concerns. Bynum was limited to only 24 minutes played in Game 1. Los Angeles is 62-27 SU and 36-50-3 ATS overall this season. The Lakers are 38-7 SU and 18-26-1 ATS in home games this season. Los Angeles is only 20-28 ATS against teams with a winning SU record this year.
Lakers are 3-7 ATS last 10 games vs. a team with a winning SU record.
Under is 12-5 last 17 games as a home favorite.
Key Injuries - C Andrew Bynum (knee) is probable.
G Sasha Vujacic (ankle) is doubtful.
PROJECTED SCORE: 100 (UNDER - Total of the Day)