NBA Betting Odds

On Saturday night, May 29th, the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers squared off in Game 6 of their series. Going into Game 6, the basketball betting favorite, Lakers held a 3-2 series lead. The Phoenix Suns had the advantage of playing at home on their side, but it ultimately made no difference as they lost 111-103, sending the Lakers to the NBA Finals for the 2nd year in a row.

Despite the fact that the Suns were in a must-win situation, they came out flat, getting out-scored 91-74 through the first three quarters. However, they came back in a hurry in the 4th quarter, but they were unable to overcome their slow start. Kobe Bryant was especially effective for the Lakers, putting up 37 points. Lamar Odom was also great off the bench, grabbing 12 rebounds. Amare Stoudemire stepped up for Phoenix, scoring 27 points, and Steve Nash chipped in 21 points, but it simply was not enough.

In Game 5, the Suns lost a heart-breaker on a last second shot by Ron Artest, and it looked like there was a lot of carry over from that in Game 6. The Suns should have come out fiery and ready to play; instead, they were sluggish from the opening tip. They simply did not have an answer for Kobe Bryant, and the Lakers proved that they were the better, deeper team. If Phoenix could have played the whole game like they did in the 4th quarter, it could have been a different story.

The Utah Jazz will try to pick up their first win of their Western semifinal series against the Los Angeles Lakers when the teams play Game 3 in Salt Lake City on Saturday.

Game 2 between the Lakers and the Jazz followed a nearly identical script to that of Game 1.

The Jazz jumped to another quick early lead but were overwhelmed by a flurry of Laker possessions that quickly built the lead, until an early fourth quarter meltdown allowed the Jazz to nearly come back. The two unquestioned leaders in Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol then finished strong, ultimately putting away the Jazz 111-103.

Once again, the Lakers, basketball betting favorite had their way with the Jazz down low. From the beginning of the series the Jazz simply could not match up with the Lakers on paper, and have so far proven unable to come up with a solution. LA had 64 point in the paint, with a 58-40 rebounding advantage and an astounding 13 team blocked shots. Forcing the Jazz to shoot outside, they hit a woeful 39% field goal percentage.

In game three, the Jazz need to avoid getting caught in the paint with nowhere to go. They need to establish their patented pick and roll offense high on the key and make better use of cutting wing players for layups or jump shots away from the Laker’s bigs. Defensive stopper Andrei Kirilenko should be ready to return and will match up with Bryant, and the Jazz excel on their homecourt, making this the Jazz’s best chance to avoid the 0-3 deficit. The Lakers on the other hand need to put the game away at the end, avoiding costly turnovers.