NBA Finals Betting – Lakers Can Steal Back Home Court Advantage

The NBA Finals are heating up. A 1-1 series shifts to New England for the middle three games. The Boston Celtics take on the Los Angeles Lakers at home, beginning Tuesday night.  

Los Angeles Lakers @ Boston Celtics
NBA Finals – Game 3
Tuesday, June 8th – 9:10 PM ET
TD Garden – Boston, MA
TV: ABC
NBA Finals Betting Spread: Celtics -2.5

The Week That Was: Lakers  

The defending NBA champions have to be scratching their heads after the 103-94 setback on Sunday. The Lakers dominated in the low post in Game 2. After hammering the Celtics to the tune of a 16-0 margin in second-chance points in Game 1, Los Angeles once again turned to its bigs to make Boston look small. They generally succeeded.  

Pau Gasol continued his superb playoff run by scoring 25 points on 7-of-10 shooting in Game 2. Teammate Andrew Bynum – bothered by a persistent and considerable knee injury during these playoffs – turned in what was by far the best effort of his 2010 postseason. Bynum fought through pronounced and evident pain to score 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting. With Gasol and Bynum combining for 46 points, shouldn’t the Lakers have won going away? 
 
Amazingly, they didn’t. 

One reason for L.A.’s failure was its inability to give Gasol more touches. Ron Artest – who should be playing defense and getting out of the way on offense – used up 10 shots and made only one of them. If five or six of those looks went to Gasol instead, the Lakers might have changed the complexion of the game. 

The Week That Was: Celtics 

Maybe the Boston Celtics aren’t as old and creaky as previously thought. In one game, the Beantowners broke even with the Los Angeles Lakers, and now, a long series appears likely in the 2010 NBA Finals. 
 
What was surprising about Game 2 is that Boston won without much of any production from the some of the men who formed the core of the 2008 championship team. Kevin Garnett managed just six points. Paul Pierce hit just 2 of 11 shots in that same game, and Kendrick Perkins – plagued by foul trouble – is not as effective as he was in 2008. The Boston big men are not performing very well. How did this team manage to score a nine-point triumph and knot this series at one game apiece? 

Rajon Rondo – he of the 19 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists in Game 2 – is one reason. Another reason is Ray Allen. The gifted sharpshooter was at his very best on Sunday. Allen hit eight 3-point field goals in this game, an NBA Finals record. Allen racked up 32 points and gave Boston the dependable scoring presence it must have in order to win this series. 
 
Outlook & Pick 

The Lakers need to get more from Lamar Odom, who scored just three points in Game 2. The world champions must also continue to have Artest smother Pierce in that wing matchup. The Odom issue is a question mark, but with Pierce being less consistent than he was in 2008, it’s a good bet that Artest will lock him down. Moreover, Kobe Bryant turned in a very so-so 21-point effort in Game 2. The basketball world is waiting for the Black Mamba to strike. With his team in need of a big-time performance, expect No. 24 to deliver the goods on Tuesday and give Lakers a shot in the arm. Take Los Angeles on the road. 

NBA Finals Betting Pick: Lakers