With the series all tied at two, the Phoenix Suns take to the road to face the Los Angeles Lakers in a pivotal Game 5 match-up. Tip is at 9 PM ET on TNT.
The Lakers are 7.5-point NBA playoff odds favorites and the over/under is 218.
Who would’ve ever thought this series would be tied up at two games apiece heading into Thursday night’s crucial NBA playoff betting Game 5? Well, those that took futures bets out on the Suns at the onset of the series did, but those not finely tuned into the NBA Playoffs have to be outright shocked to see the defending champs in a bare knuckled brawl with the Suns heading into Thursday night.
Be that as it may, these two Western Conference powerhouses are all set to go at it in Game 5 from the Staples Center with the live telecast airing on TNT at 9:00 ET.
As easily as the Los Angeles Lakers disposed of the Suns in Game 1 and in the 4th quarter of Game 2, nobody gave Phoenix much of a chance to take both Games 3 & 4 in their own house. Oddsmakers did however come off as looking wise for installing them short 1.5-point chalks in Game 3, but they figured that was their “gimme” and reinstalled the Lakers as the NBA odds favorites in Game 4.
Shame on them for having such little faith! After both clubs played to an even 23 all tie after the first 12 minutes of game action, the Suns erupted for 41 second quarter points and held a nine-point lead at the break.
That lead was trimmed to a single point after the 3rd quarter expired, but the Suns were just too much in the final stanza and held on for the 115-106 outright home win and cover to even the series up.
Most attribute the Phoenix Suns success in the series to not only taking advantage of home court the last two games but also by making a change in their defensive philosophy.
After the Lakers seemingly played pitch and catch with their guards and bigs throughout the first two games of the series, the Suns have implemented a zone defense that’s forced the Lakers to hit shots from long range.
The trio of big men Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, and Lamar Odom combined for 103 points in Games 1 & 2. That same trio only scored a total of 77 points in both games played in the desert. Evidenced by the decrease in points scored by the Lakers “Bigs,” the defensive change paid off and it’s certainly something the Suns will continue to utilize throughout the remainder of the series.
Game 3 saw Amare Stoudemire go off for a game high 42 points to help lead the Suns to victory. Game 4 was a complete team effort that saw Stoudemire lead all scorers with 21 points, but five other members of the team tallied double-figures as well.
Most impressive was the Suns bench that erupted to contribute 54 of the Suns 115 overall points. Channing Frye reintroduced himself to the team and the fans by draining four-of-eight from beyond the arc, and Leandro Barbosa had his best game of the series contributing 14 points on six-of-eight shooting from the field.
Though the Suns have made it a series, they must remain grounded considering the Lakers have toyed with them in the Staples Center winning eight of their L/10 overall visits while going 7-3 against the NBA lines during that stretch.
So far this season, Los Angeles holds a 5-3 SU & ATS advantage in the team’s eight overall 2009-10 meetings.
Each of the first four games of this series have either flown or snuck over the closing ‘total’ to make over bettors a $$$-making 13-5 ATS in these teams L/18 overall battles!
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