The Los Angeles Lakers, the best team in the NBA Western Conference at 57-25, will begin defense of their 2009 championship when they take on eighth-seed Oklahoma City Thunder (50-32) in a seven-game opening round series, starting today (3 pm ET) at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
NBA oddsmakers at Sportsbook.com list the Lakers as -800 favorites to win the series while Thunder backers are getting +500 winning odds as the underdog. For Sunday's Game-1, LA is a 7 1/2-chalk favorite versus the Thunder with a 196 1/2 total. Oklahoma City is getting +305 on the Sportsbook moneyline while LA is giving -370.
The Thunder could have finished better but instead lost three of their last five regular season games resulting in the last seed in the Western Conference. The real killer was losing to a team that wasn't going anywhere, the Golden State Warriors on April 14. Thunder backers were disappointed the next night by losing again at Portland to the short handed Blazers. Now they get to take on Phil Jacksons more seasoned Lakers in the first round.
It will be fun to see Kevin Durant take his prowess to the playoffs along with his young buddies, who are deep and unafraid on the road. The Thunder won as many road games as the Lakers this season and won’t be intimidated by Staples Center. Kobe Bryant comes into the postseason with extra rest, as the Lakers finally figured out that the regular season doesn’t mean so much. Bryant will be the difference in this series (not a shocker), but Oklahoma City will make a statement with a win in Los Angeles. Look for Thunder guard James Harden to have a breakout series. The Lakers will win this series, but they will need more from their bench in later rounds. They depend too much on Kobe.
NBA Playoffs Predictions: Oklahoma City might win a couple in this series but in the end, LA wins. Lakers win in six and cover -7 1/2 in Game-1.
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