SUNDAY, JANUARY 31, 2010 — NBA FREE PICK
Los Angeles Lakers (36-11) at Boston Celtics (29-15), 3:30 p.m. EST, ABC
The Los Angeles Lakers, the first-place team in the Western Conference’s Pacific Division, will travel to Boston to take on the Boston Celtics, the first-place team in the Eastern Conference’s Atlantic Division, at TD Banknorth Garden on Sunday.
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This is the first meeting for these teams this season.
The Los Angeles Lakers have come out of the last month looking like what everyone already thought they were: The favorite to win the NBA title for the second year in a row. They are 11-5 in the month of January after a grueling schedule and not having Ron Artest for a couple of weeks, and to top it all off, they haven’t played at home since Jan. 18, showing they can battle with anybody on the road. Another thing to consider about the Lakers is it looks like center Andrew Bynum is finally living up to his potential, averaging over 15 points and eight rebounds per game and will likely have a chip on his shoulder after an All-Star snub. Watch out, NBA, because this team is lethal.
It’s no secret the Celtics are reeling. The Celtics are in a rut unlike any they’ve seen since assembling the New Big Three in the summer of 2007. They have lost five of their last seven and 10 of their last 16 since beating Orlando on Christmas Day, including back-to-back losses to the Magic and Atlanta Hawks. Probably the biggest problem facing the Celtics right now is finding a way to re-adjust to having Kevin Garnett in the lineup. The Celtics’ go-to post player was out for 10 games and even before that, his appearances were sporadic. His knees may or may not hold up the rest of the season. As they go, so do the Celtics’ title hopes.
The odds makers have the Boston Celtics at -2 point favorites.
Kobe Bryant is 47 points away from becoming the Lakers’ all-time leading scorer, passing Jerry West, and will no doubt be gunning from the tip on Sunday. Please don’t get confused: Aside from the Staples Center, there’s no place other than Boston that Bryant would like to break this record, and he has the ultimate green light to pullt he trigger. The Celtics, surely, will be able to give the Lakers a game if only because of a super-charged home atmosphere and the fact they’re playing their rivals. There aren’t a lot of players that can say they can fill it up like Bryant, but Boston’s Paul Pierce is one of them.
Look for the Lakers to go into Boston, stare down the boo-birds and win by five points.
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- LA Lakers are 4-1 SU in their last 5 games
- LA Lakers are 4-1 SU in their last 5 games on the road
- LA Lakers are 2-8 ATS in their last 10 games when playing Boston
- LA Lakers are 4-2 SU in their last 6 games when playing Boston
- Boston is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games
- Boston is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games at home
- Boston is 8-4 SU in its last 12 games at home
- Boston is 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games when playing LA Lakers
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