NBA Game Prop Odds – Lakers’ sixth man poses problem for Phoenix defenders

NBA playoff betting fans who will be following the Western Conference championship series will be very curious to see how Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson uses the 6’10" Lamar Odom to create a matchup problem for the Phoenix defense. On Monday night the Suns are visiting the Staples Center for Game 1 of the series, in a game that will begin at 9 PM ET at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Odom is a player who possesses strong all-around skills, and he can be difficult to guard, especially if it is a member of the Suns’ second unit. How much in the way of two of his skills – scoring and rebounding – can he produce in the way of a number? The betting proposition that is laid out before us has that total at 17.5 for the combined figure, with the "over" at -125 and the "under" at -105.

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Phoenix Suns at Los Angeles Lakers

Western Conference Finals – Game 1

Monday, May 17 – 9 PM ET

NBA Odds – Basketball Playoff Betting: L.A. LAKERS -6, Total 210.5

Betting Proposition

LAMAR ODOM – TOTAL POINTS AND REBOUNDS

Over 17½ Pts + Rebs -125

Under 17½ Pts + Rebs -105

The second most famous thing Lamar Odom is known for is being a sixth man for the Los Angeles Lakers (the most famous, of course, being the husband of Khloe Kardashian) and he has been someone in a spotlight ever since he was a high school star in New York and the subject of some rather questionable recruiting practices. After only one season at Rhode Island, Odom was good to go….to the NBA, that is. He was considered a player who could have conceivably gone first in the draft, and ultimately wound up going fourth, to the Los Angeles Clippers. He’s become more of a component part with the Lakers, eschewing the role of would-be star to be a third or fourth banana at this point. I guess that’s okay, because he now has a championship ring, and despite what was a purportedly a nice free agent offer from Miami, he signed a new four-year deal with the Lakers that can be worth up to $33 million, which means you can bet he can handle the divorce settlement, with a little room to spare.

One of the things that has characterized Odom’s stay in Los Angeles is that he has been wildly inconsistent. He can be an almost irresistible force, as he was against Utah on April 2, when he pulled down ten rebounds in the midst of a seven-game streak in double digits, while also scoring 26 points, his season high. He can pound the boards from his small forward spot, as he did when he grabbed 15 rebounds coming off the bench against Utah in Game 2 of the previous playoff series. He also has a tendency to disappear, at least offensively, although some of that has to do with handing the ball, so to speak, to other talented teammates like Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. He is something of a paradox.

However, he seems to have a capacity to rebound. With the exception of the fourth and final game against Utah, he has pulled down at least six rebounds in every game since March 21. Against Phoenix he has not exactly run wild, though. In fact, his scoring average of 6.3 points a game, achieved in an average of 25-1/2 minutes of play, is his third lowest against any NBA team. His 9.3 rebounds a game, however, isn’t so bad. Can he post some numbers against Phoenix, enough to cover a bet? I think he can. I think his ability to play the off-guard, small forward, power forward, or even point guard in L.A.’s point-less offense (meaning that it doesn’t have a pure point guard, I mean) gives him the kind of versatility that will allow him to get to the boards, and there is no law against him not scoring (no, there is not such thing as "Kobe’s Law").

In this betting prop, I find this figure to be totally reachable, and so we’ll place some faith in Odom and go "over" the 17.5 points/rebounds, laying -125 as the betting price.

JAY’S PLAY: OVER 17.5 (-125) ***
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)