The Phoenix Suns can take a 3-1 lead in their NBA Playoffs series with the Los Angeles Lakers if they can pick up a win on the Lakers’ home court at the Staples Center in Los Angeles Sunday afternoon (3:30 p.m. ET tip-off). After winning games one and two in Phoenix, the Suns fell to the Lakers in game-three 95-89. A team-high 24-four point, 10-rebound effort by Amaré Stoudemire Thursday wasn’t enough as the Suns dropped Game 3 in their best-of-seven series vs. the Lakers. And 45 points from Lakers’ star guard Kobe Bryant didn’t help matters, either.
“I thought they played harder than we did,” said two-time MVP Steve Nash , who had a game-high 13 points to go along with 10 points. “That’s really the bottom line. They played harder than we did and I don’t think we stuck to our game plan like we did so well in the first two games.
“Defensively, we were a step slow. We weren’t in the right spots, and we were so good at it the first two games. I know we played with a lot of energy, but I thought our concentration in the first two games was good, too. We were solid. We were in the spots we talked about being in and we were there early. Today we weren’t there, we were there late. That makes a big difference.”
In spite of the Suns poor play, especially in the second half on Friday, oddsmakers have installed the Suns as a -5.0-point favorite in Sunday’s game along with a 207 total. The public betting trend shows 80 per cent of the early side betting action taking the five-points (ATS) and going with Phoenix while 73 per cent like the Suns on the money line (-265 ml). The ml juice on the Lakers winning straight up is +225. The total is expected to go OVER 207, according to the 84 per cent early wagering trend.
Phoenix is 10-4 SU in its last 14 games, however, has only gone 3-7 ATS in its last 10 games on the road and 2-5 ATS in its last seven games when playing the Lakers. Phoenix is 5-1 SU in its last six games when playing the Lakers.
I expect Phoenix to bounce back in a big way against LA this afternoon.
