NBA Playoff Betting – Lakers Won’t Be Lackadaisical In Game 5

The NBA Western Conference Finals are suddenly and shockingly tied at two games apiece. To the amazement of many, the Phoenix Suns can take a 3-2 lead with a win in Los Angeles on Thursday.  

Phoenix Suns @ Los Angeles Laker

NBA Western Conference Finals – Game 5
Thursday, May 27th – 9:10 PM ET
Staples Center – Los Angeles, CA
TV: TNT
NBA Playoff Betting Spread: Lakers -8

The Week That Was: Suns  

One foremost aspect of the Suns’ resurgence – which continued in a 115-106 win in Game 4 on Tuesday – has been their ability to play with more vigor and authoritativeness near the rim. Believe it or not, the one category which most heavily favored the Lakers in this series – rebounding – heavily favored Phoenix on Tuesday. The Suns didn’t just play even on the boards; they hammered the Lake Show by a 51-36 count on the glass, with an 18-13 edge on the offensive backboard. Three members of the Phoenix bench – Channing Frye, Louis Amundson, and Jared Dudley – pulled down at least six boards.  
 
Because of the rebounding disparity, it’s not surprising that the Suns once again won another battle which usually proves to be decisive at this level of playoff competition: free throw margin. On Sunday in Game 3, Phoenix posted 21 more makes than the Lakers did (37-16), and on Tuesday, it was no different in the Valley of the Suns. Coach Alvin Gentry’s feisty underdogs earned 19 more attempts (32-13) and made 15 more (22-7). That’s a huge difference maker which is a reflection of the Lakers’ lack of energy at the defensive end of the floor. 

The Week That Was: Lakers  

Coach Phil Jackson will gently tell his team before Game 5 that its toughness on the glass must return. It’s only because of the rebounding and free throw problems that the Lakers have lost the past two games of this series. How else could L.A. lose when its best player is performing so well? 

In Game 3, Kobe Bryant posted 36 points, 11 assists and 9 rebounds. In Game 4, the stat sheet was oh-so-similar for No. 24, who blistered the Suns’ defense for 38, 10 and 7. It has to be very irritating to Jackson that his team wasted two of its superstar’s finest exhibitions. Then again, it’s not about the individual, but the collective team. On a night when Pau Gasol (15 points, only 6 of 14 field goals, only 5 rebounds) looked genuinely flustered and Lamar Odom (6 of 13 shooting, 10 rebounds) didn’t really mix it up in the paint with enough consistency, the Lakers just didn’t measure up in Game 4. They still lacked the physicality which marked their overwhelming romps in Games 1 and 2. 

Outlook & Pick 

It’s just like the Oklahoma City first-round series for the Lakers. They’ve looked quite inadequate on the road after the first four games of a series, but they’ve always managed to hold serve at home. Given the Suns’ persistent lack of defense – Phoenix did really well to hold L.A. to 106 points in Game 4 – it’s hard to imagine how the Lakers’ role players won’t rise up at the Staples Center. Phoenix had its fun at home, but now the Lakers figure to regain their comfort zone. Can the Suns win three straight and put the Lakers on the brink of elimination? It’s very hard to think that can happen. There has to be a limit to the number of surprises which can emerge in one NBA postseason.  

NBA Playoff Betting Pick: Lakers