NBA Picks – Jazz Appear Set to Tie Series Against Lakers

The Utah Jazz just couldn’t do enough to beat the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 of their best of 7 Western Conference Playoff Semi-Final Series.

Utah did, however, do enough to cover the 7-point basketball betting line in the game.

Utah lost by only 5 points, 104 to 99 and outscored the Lakers 26 to 23 in the 4th quarter after battling L.A. to an even 3rd quarter.

The Jazz will attempt to do better than that on Tuesday night when they take on the Lakers in Game 2 of the series. Utah got a needed boost when Andrei Kirilenko, their terrific small forward, practiced with them on Monday. Kirilenko’s return no doubt would help the Jazz against the mighty Lakers.

L.A. is favored once again to beat the Jazz.

Utah Jazz +6 -110 +240 O 199 -110

Los Angels Lakers -6 -110 -290 U 199 -110

The NBA trends point to the Jazz covering the spread in this game.

• The Utah Jazz is 5 and 1 ATS in their last 6 games versus a team from the Western Conference.
• The Utah Jazz is 5 and 0 ATS in their last 5 games playing on 1 day of rest.
• The Los Angeles Lakers are 2 and 5 ATS in their last 7 games as the favorite.
• The Los Angeles Lakers are 1 and 6 ATS in their last 7 games after allowing 100 points ore more in their previous game.

Both teams played very well in Game 1. The single most important difference was Kobe Bryant who led all scorers with 31. Bryant, obviously feeling better than he did in the Lakers’ first round series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, was 12 of 19 from the field.

He was just too much for the Jazz who found themselves behind 30 to 23 after the 1st quarter. The Jazz, though, did regroup enough to put a scare into L.A. in quarter 4.

A deeper looker into Game 1 and things start to become clear. As good as Kobe and the Lakers are, the Jazz has the better point-guard in Deron Williams and an equal or better front-line with Carlos Boozer, C.J. Miles and Paul Millsap coming off the bench.

What it means is that if the Jazz find a way to stop Kobe from getting 30 or more and play better defense on Pau Gasol, who torched the Jazz for 25 points in Game 1, the Jazz should be in a position to win Game 2.

Now that they know what L.A. is going to do, Utah can counter-punch the Lakers by concentrating on stopping Kobe and limiting Gasol’s touches. It’s doubtful that L.A. will find a way to stop the terrific Williams who put up 24 points and 8 assists while turning the ball over only once.

All of it adds up to the Jazz covering the 6 points spread in this game. That’s the basketball bet that I’m going to make.

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