Lakers March to the Finals – Houston at Los Angeles Game 1

Kobe, Lakers Look To Continue Dominance Over Rockets in Game 1 Showdown

The Houston Rockets (53-29 SU, 40-41-1 ATS, 40-42 O/U) and Los Angeles Lakers (65-17 SU, 43-39 ATS, 42-39 O/U) will both look to record an SU and ATS victory in the BetOnline Sportsbook when they square off at the Staples Center in Game 1 of their second round series opener tonight at 10:30 PM ET.

The Rockets beat the Portland Trail Blazers 4-2 in their first-round playoff series, splitting the ATS outcomes evenly at three games apiece, while the Under played out in four straight games following two Over outcomes in the series’ first two games.

The Lakers advanced by beating the Utah Jazz 4-1 in their first-round matchup, though BetOnline NBA sports betting members should be advised the Lakers went just 2-3 ATS in the series.

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

• The Lakers are 101-86 ATS (+6.4 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
• The Lakers are 9-1 ATS (+7.9 Units) in home games after 3 or more consecutive unders over the last 2 seasons.
• Houston is 286-236 ATS (+26.4 Units) in road games since 1996.
• Houston is 51-38 ATS (+9.2 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
• The Lakers are 8-3 against the spread versus HOUSTON over the last 3 seasons
• The Lakers are 7-4 straight up against HOUSTON over the last 3 seasons
• 5 of 10 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

Click here for current NBA Odds (no odds available at time of post)

Analysis: I don’t know if this contests – or series – will be that close seeing as how the Lakers totally dominated their Western Conference counterparts pretty thoroughly during the regular season.

The Lakers went a perfect 4-0 both SU and ATS against the Rockets this season, while the Under went 3-0 between the longtime rivals.

L.A. covered the spread as 7-point, 5.5-point and 4-point favorites while also covering as 3.5-point road underdogs during the regular season.

I expect this point spread to land somewhere in the neighborhood of 6 to 8 points with the Lakers covering in Game 1 for BetOnline NBA sports betting backers with at least a nine-point win.

I also like the Under to play out if the O/U total is at least 196 total points.

NBA Free Picks: Lakers 102 Rockets 92