Lakers vs Celtics – NBA Playoff Betting

Looking to prove that they are better than they showed on Thursday, the Boston Celtics visit the six-point favorite Los Angeles Lakers this Sunday at 8:00 ET at Staples Center.  The real series begins now.

NBA Betting Odds:

Boston Celtics +6

Los Angeles Lakers -6

O/U 190

Come on NBA betting fans, let’s face it, the Celtics can’t play worse than they did in Game One.  With that said, Game Two will be a different story.

Expect the Celtics to close the way to the basket; those easy baskets Kobe and the rest of the Los Angeles roster made are over.  Doc Rivers knows that they made plenty of mistakes, but a basic critical one like this one won’t happen again.

Another thing is that Ray Allen probably won’t be sitting that long, meaning he won’t commit dumb fouls like in Game One.  If Allen is on the floor, the Celtics have an opportunity from long range and more importantly, we won’t get to see Tony Allen much, which is good.

Consider also that Gasol is far from being intimidated by Kevin Garnet, who actually looked far from his best shape.

I expect Gasol to keep pounding the ball and especially dominate the one-on-one match-up against a limpy K-G.

The X factor in this game will be Paul Pierce, yes, Paul Pierce.  He played –along with the rest of the Celtics- such a crappy game that expecting a similar performance in Game Two would be insane.

I expect a close game from beginning to end.

NBA Betting trends says BOSTON is 9-2 against the spread versus LA LAKERS over the last 3 seasons, but they are 1-8 ATS against Pacific division opponents this season.

The Lakers are 34-42 ATS as a favorite and 4-5 ATS against Atlantic division opponents.

Also 7 of 12 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons.

Simmons’ pick:  Take the Celtics and the points.