NBA Parlay – Lakers, Spurs, Cavs and Suns all in Action

Los Angeles Lakers (51-13) @ San Antonio Spurs (43-20)

The Los Angeles Lakers have been at both ends of the spectrum in their last two road games. On Monday night in Portland, the Lakers were atrocious and lost by 17 points.

On Wednesday night, against the streaking Houston Rockets, the Lakers re-asserted themselves with a quality win.

On Thursday, the Lakers will get a real test as they head to San Antonio to face the Spurs. The Spurs started the season slow but have been 34-12 since a slow 9-8 start.

This could be a preview of the Western Conference Finals and after the Spurs lost 4-1 to the Lakers in the postseason last year, they will want to get a feel for how they measure up now.

The Spurs spent the offseason getting younger and adding some depth. Roger Mason Jr., George Hill and Drew Gooden have done exactly that but that may not be enough to get the Spurs past the Lakers in the playoffs unless they have home court advantage.

For tonight’s matchup, sports betting fans should take note that Manu Ginobili will not be in the lineup for the Spurs.

This will be the third game in four nights for the Lakers, so expect some fatigue to show up. The Texas trek is never easy and after a win in Houston last night, look for the Spurs to return favor tonight.

Pick: Spurs -2.5

Cleveland Cavaliers (50-13) @ Phoenix Suns (34-30)

NBA betting fans know that it was all coming unglued just about a month ago when the Phoenix Suns fired head coach Terry Porter and while the move looked like it sparked a lackluster team, the reality is now clear. The Suns just aren’t a very good team anymore.

To their credit, the Suns are forced to live without forward Amare Stoudemire for the rest of the season – including the playoffs, if they get there – but even so, the Suns have been disappointing.

The Suns, who are trying to chase down a playoff spot, have lost five straight, although four of their five losses were by six points or less.

Sports betting handicappers put their face in Phoenix on Tuesday night, but the Dallas Mavericks disposed of them rather easily even without Josh Howard.

For the Phoenix Suns, who are now five games out of the postseason, this is it. They are going to be in full-on desperation mode on Thursday and assuming that they haven’t folded already, they should produce one of their best performances of late.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are one of the best teams in the NBA and although they might be a little road-weary at this point, they have some extra motivation to stick it to Shaq. This will be a tight game but the better team will prevail.

Pick: Cavs -4.5