High Flyers – Hornets at Lakers

The New Orleans Hornets (32-20 SU, 22-28-2 ATS, 24-27-1 O/U) have won two consecutive games in the BetOnline Sportsbook but are in the strange position of accepting returning center Tyson Chandler, a player they tried to trade to the Oklahoma City Thunder earlier this week.

The Los Angeles Lakers (44-10 SU, 29-25 ATS, 33-21 O/U) have also won two straight games in the BetOnline Sportsbook and appear to be on a mission that leads directly to the NBA Finals.

All-star point guard Chris Paul scored a team-high 36 points and dished out 10 assists, as the Hornets laid an emphatic 117-85 smackdown on the Orlando Magic on Wednesday. New Orleans covered the 1.5-point spread as home favorites while the combined score made it OVER the posted O/U total of 189 points.

The Lakers were pushed to the limit in their 129-121 win over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday as they covered the spread as 5-point home favorites while the combined score played OVER the posted O/U total of 228.5 points.

Superstar shooting guard Kobe Bryant scored a team-high 28 points while all-star forward Pau Gasol added 24 points and seven rebounds for the Lakers.

Here is a look at tonight’s key trends, followed by my in-depth analysis and NBA Free Pick:

The total has gone OVER in 6 of New Orleans’s last 7 games when playing on the road against LA Lakers

The total has gone UNDER in 5 of New Orleans’s last 6 games when playing LA Lakers

New Orleans is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games when playing on the road against LA Lakers

The total has gone OVER in 7 of New Orleans’s last 9 games

LA Lakers are 9-1 SU in their last 10 games

LA Lakers are 22-3 SU in their last 25 games at home

The total has gone OVER in 6 of the LA Lakers last 7 games when playing at home against New Orleans

The total has gone UNDER in 5 of the LA Lakers last 6 games when playing New Orleans

NBA Odds

New Orleans Hornets +9 -110

Los Angeles Lakers -9 -110

Over 206½ -110

Under 206½ -110

Analysis: The New Orleans Hornets lucked up by getting center Tyson Chandler back after stupidly trading away their best defensive player and rebounder in the first place.

While I like the Lakers to win this contest tonight, I’m going to take the Hornets to cover the spread as they have won three of the last four meetings in L.A. outright while covering the spread in all four games.

I also like the Over as three of the last five meetings between these two teams have topped tonight’s 206.5-point O/U total.

NBA Free Picks: Hornets +9 Points/Over 206½ Total Points