| NBA Playoff Prediction: LA Lakers vs San Antonio Spurs |
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| Written by Scott Burgess | |||||||
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Thursday, 29 May 2008
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 A home win for the L.A. Lakers tonight can make them Western Conference Champs. The Lakers lead the best of seven series 3-1 and they have yet to lose on home court throughout the playoffs. Oddsmakers at SBGglobal.com have Lakers as 7 ½-point favs over the Spurs with the over/under set at 194. Get your NBA Playoff Prediction in now at SBGglobal.comThe Lakers are one win away from making the Finals since their last trip back in 2004; they’ll have three whacks at it if needed. The Lakers beat the Spurs on their turf 93-91 handing the Spurs their first home loss. Kobe was his usual self putting up 28pts by making 14 of 29 from the field while Lamar Odem was almost perfect from the free throw line making 8 of 9 for 16pts. As a team they shot 44% from the field, they only made 3 of 17 from downtown and the big difference was they made 14 of 19 from the line. "We're a tough bunch," Bryant said. "I think we've grown into a tough team mentally. I think we've grown up. Quick learners - we're all just intelligent idiots." The Lakers are a perfect 7-0 SU at home in the playoffs where they average 110 PPG and they give up an average 100 PPG. Game 1 against the Spurs was a close game as the Lakers won by 4pts; Game 2 was a 30pt blowout by the Lakers and they’ll opt for the same game plan as Game 2. "They're the defending champions, and we're going to have to play another good 48-minute basketball game in order to beat them," Fisher said. "We've been through tough games already in this series, and this game is going to be the toughest," Lakers center Pau Gasol said. The Spurs seemed sluggish and slow at times last game and a lot of shots just wouldn’t fall for them. Manu Ginobili had a low 7pts, Micheal Finley finished with 0pts as well as Fabricio Oberto. Tim Duncan was the top producer with 29pts and 17 rebounds while Tony Parker was second in line with 23pts and he was a perfect 7 for 7 from the line. Now their backs are to the wall as they must beat the Lakers to force a Game 6. "Down 3-1, we know it's really hard to come back," San Antonio's Manu Ginobili said. "But we're going to try. Of course, we still believe in ourselves. We're going to have a shot. As always the next game is THE game." The Spurs are 2-6 SU on the road in the playoffs where they’ve averaged 91 PPG and they’ve given up an average 93 PPG. The Spurs have not won on Lakers soil since January 28, 2007, Spurs are 0-4 in L.A.. Recent Trends to Consider
GAME: San Antonio Spurs (65-33) at L.A. Lakers (68-28) DATE/TIME: Thursday, May 29 - 9:00 PM EST LINE: SBGglobal.com TOTAL: 194 PICK: Lakers -7 ½ The Bottom Line: Kobe and his Lakers are money at home and you can bet they’ll come out harder and faster than previous games. Kobe puts most of his points up in the fourth quarter and when he’s on the bench the Lakers faithful can still hold down the court. Get your NBA Playoff Prediction in now at SBGglobal.com and receive a 10% sign-up bonus on your initial deposit!                        |
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