NBA Free Pick – Wednesday, January 5, 2011
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Los Angeles Lakers (24-11)vs. Phoenix Suns (14-18)
Wednesday, January 5, 2011 at 10:30 pm EST on NBA TV
Last meeting: Phoenix upset LA 121-116 at Staples in November.
The Lakers haven’t been playing well lately. Miami embarrassed them on Christmas Day and they were exposed against San Antonio as well. The worst loss of recent note was on Sunday when they lost, at home again, by 19 to the Memphis Grizzlies. Essentially they ran them out of the gym, hoisting 19 more shots than the Lakers. Something is off with Kobe and the team is struggling to integrate Andrew Bynum in his return to the lineup. The Lakers are currently 5th in the Western Conference as San Antonio and Dallas are quickly distancing themselves from the rest. If L.A. wants to be considered a legit contender they have to start playing better and beating the teams they are supposed. They handled Detroit easily on Tuesday night to get right before heading to Phoenix with revenge on their mind. It would be great to see a big game from Kobe, his shooting was off last night and he hasn’t looked right all season.
The Suns are in a serious rut right now, having one only three of their last 10. Unlike their trade partner Orlando they are struggling to figure out their new pieces fir to become whole again. They might be missing that Stoudemire guy too. Lately they haven’t even been scoring much either. Over the last 10 they have been held below 94 points five times . They still rank 3rd in the league in points per game but their play has been very inconsistent this season and they are in danger from slipping out of the playoff picture early if they don’t right the ship soon. Playing a good team like the Lakers will be a challenge but they do have the advantage of playing at home and welcoming the Lakers for the second game of a back to back. They also stunned L.A. in their last meeting but that literally was a different team with all the personnel changes.
The current line on this one is Lakers -3.5. Backing teams in the second game of a back to back is not generally recommended but given the two teams involved and the direction they are going there is decent value here.
Prediction: The Lakers should be able to have success avenging their earlier loss. They aren’t playing fabulous ball but neither are the Suns. Look for Kobe to respond to the ESPN cameras in this spotlight game.
Free Pick: Los Angeles 101 – Phoenix 94
The odds makers have the Los Angeles Lakers as a -4.5 point favorite with an over/under of 207.
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Trends Los Angeles
- Lakers are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 road games.
- Lakers are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
- Lakers are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 vs. NBA Pacific.
Trends Phoenix
- Suns are 12-5-1 ATS in their last 18 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.
- Suns are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games as an underdog of 0.5-4.5.
- Suns are 2-7 ATS in their last 9 vs. Western Conference.
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