Game of the day: Suns at Lakers
By Teddy Covers
Kobe’s dominance
When the Lakers destroyed the Suns 128-107 in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals, it was Kobe Bryant who led the charge. Bryant hadn’t been able to practice since the end of L.A.’s sweep against Utah in the second round and had fluid drained from his balky knee prior to the game.
Bryant showed no lingering effects from his knee problems, pouring in 40 points in the series opener, 21 of those in the third quarter. The game was so out of hand, that Bryant was able to sit most of the fourth quarter, with head coach Phil Jackson virtually assured that his team would win the game comfortably.
Kobe has now gone for 30 or more in six straight games this postseason, stretching back to Game 6 of their opening-round series against Oklahoma City. His 40-point outburst in Game 1 was the 11th time in his career that he’s gone for 40-plus in a playoff game.
“I'm pretty sure that we're not the first team that he scored 40 against,” Suns head coach Alvin Gentry told reporters, trying to downplay Kobe’s dominance.
Kobe’s teammate Derek Fisher was more effusive with his praise when talking to reporters after the game.
“He continues to do things that put him in a category of his own,” Fisher said. “We like to compare guys to other guys, but there are times where he does things that nobody else could really do it…. when he’s healthy, I don’t know how much more you can do if you’re the opponent.”
Bryant was pleased with the benefits resulting from his time off the court, waiting for the series to start.
“My legs benefited a lot. I was able to take some time off and just get stronger, get my legs stronger, body stronger,” Bryant told the media.
Frontcourt woes
Kobe's 40-point outburst came in addition to the Lakers' 56-36 scoring advantage in the paint. Lamar Odom pulled down a playoff career-high 19 rebounds off the bench as the Lakers won the rebounding battle on both ends of the floor. Andrew Bynum was largely a non-factor, but Pau Gasol connected on 10 of his 13 shot attempts as L.A. controlled the low post throughout.
Suns point guard Steve Nash knows full well that low-post play is going to be huge in this series.
“They're probably going to continue to be taller than us as the series goes on,” he joked following Game 1.
The Suns got 7-foot center Robin Lopez back on the court for Game 1 after an extended injury absence and Lopez was the only Phoenix frontcourt player to step up in any way. Lopez was guardedly positive in his postgame comments to reporters.
“Obviously I would’ve preferred to win, but my wind felt OK. There was no pain or soreness out there when I was playing. I was surprised at how good I felt out there,” he said.
Unfortunately for Phoenix, the rest of their frontcourt did not play well. Channing Frye shot more air balls than made baskets. Amare Stoudemire was completely ineffective on the defensive end while snaring only three rebounds in 35 minutes of action.
The Lakers frontcourt won the battle of the paint with relative ease, something Phoenix will have to fix in a hurry if they want to remain competitive in this series.
Battle of the role players
Phoenix reached the Western Conference finals after missing the playoffs entirely last year in large part due to the contributions from its role players. Alvin Gentry’s bench was a difference maker in their series wins against both Portland and San Antonio.
But the Lakers’ role players were the ones who stepped up in Game 1. Ron Artest enjoyed a strong offensive night, chipping in 14 points. Lamar Odom had one of the best playoff games of his career with 19 points and 19 boards. Jordan Farmar and Shannon Brown, L.A.’s backup guard duo, came within nine points of outscoring the Suns’ starting backcourt of Steve Nash and Jason Richardson.
Suns head coach Alvin Gentry wasn’t shy about praising his opponent in his post-game comments to the press.
“They played great, one of the best games I’ve seen them play in the playoffs this season.”
Gentry’s comments virtually echoed what we heard out of Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan’s mouth after his Jazz got swept by the Lakers in the second round. Sloan.
Recent history
Phoenix is 36-10 SU since January 28 and 22-5 since March 14 - the best record of any team this side of Orlando during that span. But it’s the Lakers who have enjoyed most of the success when these two teams have matched up against one another.
Los Angeles has beaten Phoenix in eight of 10 meetings since L.A. acquired Pau Gasol prior to the 2008 trade deadline. Six of those eight wins have come in blowout fashion, by 13 points or more. The Suns’ postseason success against L.A. – knocking the Lakers out of the playoffs in both 2006 and 2007 – appears to be nothing more than a motivating factor for Phil Jackson’s squad right now.
Game 2 changes
After allowing Kobe to go nuts against defenders Grant Hill and Jason Richardson in the opener, there is some talk that Phoenix might look to double team Bryant in Game 2, forcing the ball out of his hands. But if Phoenix double teams Kobe, it’ll create problem matchups for the Suns defense elsewhere, particularly in the paint.
Bryant didn’t sound too concerned with the possibility of a double team in Game 2.
“They send two guys at me, I've done my job. We'll be ready if that happens.”
Game 2 is lined with a very similar price to Game 1. The Lakers closed as 6-point favorites in the first game, but bettors aren’t respecting the zig-zag theory here. Los Angeles is a 6.5-point home favorite in Game 2, with the overnight total set at 215.
Game 2, Lakers vs. Suns
By Chris David
Once Cleveland was eliminated from the playoffs, the Lakers became the odds-on favorites to win the NBA Finals. After watching Phil Jackson’s team play lately, some might wonder why the defending champions haven’t been listed as the heavy ‘chalk’ all along. The Lakers have certainly looked the part recently, ripping off seven wins in a row, including their Western Conference finals opener over Phoenix on Monday.
Los Angeles ripped the Suns 128-107 in wire-to-wire fashion in Game 1 behind a monster effort from Kobe Bryant. The All-Star posted 40 points on 13-of-23 attempts from the field and 11-of-12 from the free-throw stripe, 21 of the points coming in the third quarter. The Suns tried to temper Bryant defensively with Grant Hill but he was no match and neither was Jared Dudley off the bench. After the blowout loss, Hill didn’t know what to do or say. "[Kobe] is the best player in the game," Hill said. "I don't know exactly what we did wrong or right tonight." It was the sixth straight playoff game that Bryant has posted at least 30 points and unless Phoenix doubles-up Kobe, you could see more efforts like this.
Bryant’s hot night helped the Lakers shoot 58 percent from the field and 18-of-22 from the charity stripe as a team. Pau Gasol (21 points) and Ron Artest (14 points) both had solid efforts, but Lamar Odom stole the show off the bench with a playoff-high 19 points and 19 boards, including seven offensive rebounds.
Even though the Suns’ defense couldn’t do anything to stop Kobe and company, the offense did put up 107 points while shooting 49 percent from the field. Amar'e Stoudemire led the team with 23 points but he only had three rebounds. Steve Nash wasn’t great in Game 1, yet he still filled up the stat sheet with 13 points and 13 assists.
Most pundits believe the Suns are outmatched in this series and will need to be perfect to win any game against Los Angeles. Their lack of size showed in Game 1, as the Lakers outscored the Suns by 20 points (56-36) in the paint and they lost the battle of the boards (42-34) as well. And Phoenix’s strengths of fast break points (4 points) and 3-point shooting (15 points) were both stifled on Monday.
According to VegasInsider.com handicapper Brian Edwards, he believes Game 1’s outcome will be the first of many quick defeats for the Suns. He said, “I don’t think Phoenix has any shot at all in this series. Maybe the Suns win a game – two tops – if they shoot real well back at home. Alvin Gentry’s team just doesn’t have anything inside to contend with the likes of Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom. And when Odom plays like he did last night, the Lakers are extremely tough to beat. I still like the Boston-Orlando winner to beat L.A. but if I thought Odom was going to play like he did last night in the Finals, I might have to reconsider.”
The Lakers have been listed as 6 ½-point favorites for Game 2. Gamblers believing the Suns can win outright might want to take a chance on the generous money line odds (+260).
Even though Los Angeles led by as many as 28 and wound up posting the 21-point victory in Game 1, history has shown that teams tend to bounce back off blowout losses, especially in the conference finals.
VegasInsider.com handicapper Marc Lawrence explains, “As we’ve learned, teams that fail miserably tend to bounce back rather than stay down. In fact, teams off a point-spread loss of more than 10 points are a very profitable 37-20-1 (65%) ATS in 3rd round playoff action.”
The total for Game 1 closed at 211 and the combined 235 points easily watched the contest go ‘over’ the number. For the second battle at Staples Center, the books pushed the number up to 215.
Prior to giving up 128 points in Game 1, the Suns’ defense was playing great. San Antonio put up 102 on two different occasions in the semifinals and Portland was held under 100 in five of the six games during the first round. While Phoenix has sort of changed its tune defensively in this year’s playoffs, the Lakers’ offense is on a roll right now. After being held in check against Oklahoma City in the first round, the Purple and Gold have averaged 113 points per games in the last five, which has helped the ‘over’ go 5-0 during this span.
According to NBA playoff history, teams that have taken a 1-0 series lead in a best-of-seven series have gone on to win 78.3 percent of the time. Oddsmakers opened Los Angeles as a $3.40 (Bet $340 to win $100) series favorite over Phoenix and after the victory in the first installment, that number has been pushed up to $6.00 (Bet $600 to win $100) at most offshore outlets.
TNT will offer national coverage of tonight’s tip, which is slated to begin at 9:00 p.m. EDT.
The pair will meet in Game 3 on Sunday from US Airways Arena in Phoenix.
vegasinsider.com
NBA PLAYOFFS
WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS
Phoenix (8-3 SU and ATS) at L.A. Lakers (9-2, 7-4 ATS)
The defending NBA champion Lakers look to build on their series-opening blowout when they face the Suns in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals at Staples Center.
Kobe Bryant had 21 of his 40 points in the third quarter Monday, and Los Angeles plowed to a 128-107 series-opening victory as a six-point home favorite. Pau Gasol added 21 points on 10-for-13 shooting, while Lamar Odom came off the bench and had 19 points and 19 rebounds for L.A., which shot a whopping 58 percent, hitting 51 of 88 shots.
The Lakers, seeded first in the West, are on a seven-game tear in the playoffs (6-1 ATS), having not lost since Game 4 of its first-round series with Oklahoma City.
Phoenix, which was on a 22-4 SU roll (19-6-1 ATS) entering this series, shot a respectable 49.4 percent (39 of 79), but facing the league’s best three-point shooting defense, the Suns hit just 5 of 22 from beyond the arc (22.7 percent). Amare Stoudemire had 23 points, Jason Richardson scored 15, and Steve Nash had 13 points and 13 assists in defeat.
Los Angeles is 4-1 SU and ATS in its five meetings with Phoenix this season. The Lakers have won eight of the last 10 SU in this rivalry and 10 of the last 14 ATS. L.A. has covered in four straight at home against the Suns – all double-digit blowouts – and the home team is on a 6-1 ATS run. Finally, the SU winner is 12-1 ATS in the last 13 Suns-Lakers clashes, with the winner cashing in all five meetings this year.
These squads also met in the first round in 2006 and 2007, with Phoenix taking both series, rallying from a 3-1 deficit in ’06 (4-3 ATS), and rolling in five games in ’07 (2-3 ATS). The SU winner has cashed in all 11 of the Suns’ playoff games this year and in 20 in a row overall for Phoenix, and the SU winner is 9-2 ATS in L.A.’s 11 playoff contests this spring.
Los Angeles has gone 40-7 inside Staples Center this season, but just 20-25-2 ATS, despite outscoring the opposition by nearly nine ppg (104.2-95.3) and outshooting visitors 46.3 percent to 43.7 percent. The Lakers are 6-0 SU (4-2 ATS) at home in the playoffs.
Phoenix is 26-21 SU (27-20 ATS) on the highway this season (4-2 SU and ATS in the postseason), averaging 107.2 ppg on 48.6 percent shooting and allowing a shade less at 106.5 ppg (45.9 percent).
The Lakers are 6-1 ATS in their last seven overall, 5-1 ATS in their last six following a SU win (4-0 last four) and 4-1 ATS in their last five conference finals starts, but they remain in pointspread ruts of 6-11-1 at home (all as a chalk), 4-11 after a spread-cover and 5-15-1 after a day off.
The Suns are 1-4 ATS in their last six conference finals outings and 2-6 ATS in their last eight after a SU loss of more than 10 points. On the flip side, they still own a bevy of positive ATS streaks, including 34-17-1 overall, 5-2 on the road, 5-1 as an underdog, 7-0 after a non-cover, 5-0 after a SU loss, 20-7 against teams with a winning percentage above .600 and 36-15-1 after a day off.
Los Angeles is on “over” surges of 7-1-1 overall (4-0-1 last five), 4-0 at home, 6-2 as a chalk, 4-0-1 after a day off and 4-0-1 after a SU win, though the under has hit in nine of the Lakers’ last dozen conference finals games. Phoenix is on “over” stretches of 4-1 overall and 5-2 after a non-cover, but the Suns also sport “under” rolls of 7-2-1 in roadies, 6-2-1 as a ‘dog, 7-3 as a road pup of five to 10½ points and 9-3 after a SU loss of more than 10 points.
Finally, in this rivalry, the over/under has alternated in the last seven meetings overall, with Monday’s game flying over the 210½-point price. However, the total has gone high in nine of the last 12 between these two at Staples Center (4-1 last five).
ATS ADVANTAGE: L.A. LAKERS
NBA RoundUp For 5/19
By Dan Bebe
Suns @ Lakers - Los Angeles by 6.5 with a total of 214. Just as we spoke yesterday about how much information we can glean from the opening line in Boston/Orlando, this line is nearly as powerful an indicator of how the books believe the sharps are going to bet. Because really, these higher volume games truly boil down to the books knowing they'll get a slightly greater chunk from the public than usual, and everyone knows which side the public is going to take based on the previous game, so books need to be able to account for that money coming on the other side. I'd say there's about a 95% chance the public likes the Lakers in this one, considering LA laid a furious beating on the Suns in game one. So, then, this line comes out exactly the same? That either shows the books are downright retarded, or it shows that they expect sharps to come in heavier on Phoenix with the public definitely heavier on LA. Which side would you want to be on? As far as match-ups go, this is where we hit a little bump in the road. The Lakers are far and away the superior team - they're more talented, bigger, stronger, and at probably faster at about 80% of positions. They also got better bench play than the previously impressive Suns reserves. But, if Marco D'Angelo has taught us anything over the years, and we can go ahead and give the big guy credit for at least one thing, it's that no team is as good as their best effort, and no team is as bad as their worst. And what we saw in game one was the Lakers' absolute best game. They hit every open shot, they rebounded well, dominated inside and outside, and the Suns role players missed whatever few looks they got. I expect Phoenix to make some big shots, and I expect the Lakers not named Gasol or Bryant to miss a few, and while I'm not saying the Lakers are going to play like crap, I do think that these teams play a closer game. Lean to Suns on the side. The total, not surprisingly, opened higher than the previous game, after that one went off at 210 and the total hit 235. That was a bit of a miss by oddsmakers, but this adjustment means there's some built-in value on the Under. If this game is indeed closer, the scoring should slow in the 2nd half a bit more, since the blowout led to a lot of quick shots in game one. Lean to the Under.