| NBA Playoff Prediction: LA Lakers vs San Antonio Spurs |
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| Written by Scott Burgess | |||||||
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Friday, 23 May 2008
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 The L.A. Lakers took Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals 89-85 over the Spurs. It wasn’t that the Lakers played the better game, it was the Spurs scoring drought that let the Lakers catch up. Tonight the Spurs aren’t going to let that lead fade away. The Lakers are now 7-3 SU against the Spurs this season. Oddsmakers at Sportsbetting.com have the Lakers as 6 ½ favs over the Spurs with the over/under set at 192 ½. Get your NBA Playoff Prediction in now at Sportsbetting.comThe Lakers had a slow start to Game 1, at half time they were down 43-51. Kobe had nine assists and five rebounds, he shot 1-for-3 in the first half and it wasn’t looking good. After the half was a different story. Kobe went 10 for 18 and had 25 points to help his team come back from a 20 point deficit to get the 89-85 home win. "I know I can make that push and I knew once I did, I could get the game back under control, get it under 10 where we knew we could be in striking distance," Bryant said. "In the first half, we were a little rusty, a little sluggish and a little tentative. The Lakers are a perfect 6-0 SU at home where they’ve averaged 110 PPG in the playoffs. In their last five games they’ve averaged 104 PPG, 47% from the field and their 3-point shooting is down to 35%. Derek Fisher is pulling his weight as well as Pau Gasol. Lamar Odom was quite with 8pts after going 3 for 12 from the field. The Lakers can’t let the Spurs take the lead like that again, the Spurs aren’t going to make the same mistake twice. The Spurs did everything right in the first half, and they did everything wrong in the second. They are famous for going through slumps in games, but to let their opponents to come back from 20 points down is plain awful. "Obviously a difficult loss and we had a great opportunity. We didn't take advantage of it. Hurts like hell." Coach Popovich said. Defensive specialist Bruce Bowen held Bryant in check in the first half, but it didn't last. He’ll be on Kobe again tonight. The Spurs shooting in the second was horrid, they were 3 for 21 and 1 for 9 from beyond the arch. Duncan finished with 30 points, 18 rebounds and four blocked shots. Tony Parker had 18 points, 10 rebounds and six assists; Bowen scored 12 points, and Ginobili added 10 for the Spurs. Ginobili could have done better, but it was the defense of Lakers Vujacic that held Ginobili to making 3 of 13. You can bet the Spurs won’t let this happen tonight. Recent Trends to Consider
GAME: San Antonio Spurs (64-31) at L.A. Lakers Lakers (66-27) DATE/TIME: Friday, May 23 - 9:00 PM EST LINE: Sportsbetting.com TOTAL: 192 ½ PICK: Spurs +6 ½ The Bottom Line: The Spurs are going to learn from their mistakes and stick it to the Lakers. Kobe has to rest sometime, he didn’t rest at all after the half, he usually sits out the last three minutes of the third. Get your NBA Playoff Prediction in now at Sportsbetting.com and recieve a 10% sign-up bonus on your initial deposit.                        |
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