The 2010 Western Conference Finals are set to go from the Staples Center where Kobe Bryant and the top seeded Los Angeles Lakers will look to take one step closer towards defending their 2008-09 NBA Championship against Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns; tip for this NBA Playoff betting battle is set for 9:00 ET with the national broadcast airing live on TNT.
The Lakers are 6.5-point NBA Playoff odds favorites and the over/under is 210.5.
It’s been awhile since we’ve seen either of these teams take to the hardwood as both the Suns and Lakers swept their second round opponents last week.
Head coach Alvin Gentry’s club haven’t laced them up since May 9th after it scored a 107-101 road win and cover in Game 4 against the San Antonio Spurs. HC Phil Jackson’s squad has been off since last Monday after pounding the Utah Jazz 111-96 as laughable 3.5-point Game 4 underdogs.
Since dropping Game 1 of their quarterfinals match-up with the Portland Trail Blazers, the Phoenix Suns have been white hot capturing SU wins and covers in eight of their L/9 overall games played. They enter this series on a $$$-making 6-0 SU & ATS winning streak, and they’ve won each of their L/3 playoff road games outright as underdogs.
Surprisingly, veteran Jason Richardson has led the Suns in scoring in the post-season churning out an average of 21.9 PPG. Three of his loftier second season point totals have come on the road – he scored a whopping 42 points in Game 3 vs. Portland, 28 in the Game 6 series clincher, and 21 at San Antonio in Game 3.
Still, PG Steve Nash is the ringleader of an offense that enters this series ranked #1 in points scored (110.2 PPG), field goal percentage (49.2%), and three-point shooting percentage (41.2%). In case you missed his heroics in Game 4 vs. San Antonio, he helped lead the Suns to the clinching victory with one eye after he took a Tim Duncan elbow to the eye. Overall, the Santa Clara product has averaged nine assists per game in the NBA betting post-season.
Along with scoring a playoff average of 20.5 PPG, F Amare Stoudemire leads the team in rebounding (7.0 RPG) and blocked shots (1.5 BPG).
The defending champion Los Angeles Lakers enter Game 1 with some serious question marks regarding the team’s health. It was reported that Kobe Bryant just had a significant amount of fluid drained from his right knee, and was held out of practice all week as a precautionary measure. C Andrew Bynum’s knee is said to be feeling worse, and the swelling hasn’t subsided. C Pau Gasol was hampered by a sinus infection in the middle of last week, but will be suiting up for Game 1.
If these three guys are limited due to injury or health concerns in this series, they’re hopes of repeating as champs are slim to none. Why you ask? Well, Kobe’s 26.9 PPG has paced the Lakers in scoring in the playoffs; he’s scored 30+ points in five straight. He’s also the team leader in assists with 4.9 APG. As for Gasol, he’s ripped down a team best 13.1 rebounds per game and Bynum’s been a defensive force coming up with an average of two blocks per game.
If there was ever a team that could combat Phoenix’s fast paced scoring attack, it would be the Lakers who boast the ninth ranked scoring defense (97 PPG), 5th ranked field goal percentage defense (44.6%), and top ranked three-point percentage defense (32.8%).
As a visitor in the 2010 NBA betting playoffs, the Suns stand 4-1 SU & ATS. The Lakers are a perfect 5-0 SU but they’ve gone just 3-2 ATS in their five games played in the Staples Center.
Los Angeles won three of these teams four regular season meetings both SU & ATS this season with the last meeting occurring way back in March, ‘total’ players split with the under/over cashing twice.
Mike Rose has been in the sports handicapping business for over a decade, and is a leading sports writer for some of the top sports betting news websites on the internet. To keep up with him on a daily basis, you can