NBA Betting: Lakers, Thunder Game 6
It was the kind of game you expect to see from the defending NBA champs. After being throttled in Game 4, the Lakers played one of their better games in quite a while in Game 5 to take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series with the Thunder. Ron Artest made an impact on offense while Kobe Bryant concentrated on the defensice end. Los Angeles can close it out tonight at Oklahoma City's Ford Center beginning at 9:30 p.m. (ET).
There are your defending NBA champions right there.
Everything the Los Angeles Lakers did on Tuesday looked just right – the triangle offense, the frontcourt dominance, the focused intention. It all added up to a 111-87 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder (+6), putting the Lakers up 3-2 in this Western Conference quarterfinal and leaving Oklahoma City in need of a win at home on Friday night.
It can be perplexing sometimes to follow the Lakers and wonder why they don’t play like this more often. But sometimes the opponents make it difficult.
The Thunder is one of the best defensive teams in the NBA, ranking No. 8 in the league in efficiency at 101.6 points allowed per 100 possessions. Oklahoma City held L.A. to under 100 points in each of the first four games and grabbed the cash three times.
The Lakers didn’t make any drastic changes on offense in Game 5, other than to move the ball with a lot more purpose, loosening up the OKC defenders and allowing the defending champions to get the ball inside to Pau Gasol (25 points, 11 rebounds) and Andrew Bynum (21 points, 11 rebounds). Kobe Bryant limited himself to nine shot attempts while dishing out seven assists in a facilitating role.
Bryant also disrupted the Oklahoma City offense by switching to defend point guard Russell Westbrook, who turned the ball over eight times on Tuesday and shot just 4-of-13 from the field. As coach Phil Jackson pointed out, the Lakers were able to defend better in part because they were making their shots on offense, allowing Bryant and the perimeter players to get set at the other end. But the Thunder were also held to just nine points on 22 possessions in transition.
The other notable adjustment by the Lakers has to do with Ron Artest. He shaved his colorful hairdo, but more importantly, Artest found himself left open at the post for some easy points, finishing the day with 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting. Artest’s offensive abilities are in decline and he has a tendency to fire up ill-advised shots from long range. That wasn’t the case in Game 5 with the Lakers taking an early lead and never relenting.
Even with the champs looking so good, the betting odds for Game 6 have the Thunder pegged at -1½ to extend this series. Home-court advantage is the underlying theme for the first round of this year’s playoffs with the home side going 25-13-1 ATS heading into Thursday’s action and 4-1 ATS in this series. Oklahoma City is 14-9 ATS at the Ford Center this year against winning teams, while the Lakers are 7-16 ATS on the road against teams above .500.
Arena officials will be handing out free T-shirts again to re-create the “Blue Out” effect we saw when the Thunder won twice at home.
If you like to use the zigzag theory in every single game of a series, and not just in the second of back-to-back games in the same arena, then Oklahoma City has a lot to offer. Scotty Brooks went from anonymity to Coach of the Year in 2010; he’s made smart adjustments of his own in the first round, including the decision to use Kevin Durant to defend against Bryant. More corrections will be made in Game 6.
Oklahoma City is an astounding 29-12 ATS this year after scoring under 100 points in its previous contest. Los Angeles is 19-31-3 ATS after allowing under 100 points.
Still not convinced about the No. 8 seed? The Thunder have handled the small favorite role with ease this year, going 16-8 ATS when laying fewer than five points. The Lakers are 2-9 ATS as underdogs of the same size. And yet the consensus reports at press time had L.A. pulling in 85 percent support. Some things never change.
It was the kind of game you expect to see from the defending NBA champs. After being throttled in Game 4, the Lakers played one of their better games in quite a while in Game 5 to take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series with the Thunder. Ron Artest made an impact on offense while Kobe Bryant concentrated on the defensice end. Los Angeles can close it out tonight at Oklahoma City's Ford Center beginning at 9:30 p.m. (ET).
There are your defending NBA champions right there.
Everything the Los Angeles Lakers did on Tuesday looked just right – the triangle offense, the frontcourt dominance, the focused intention. It all added up to a 111-87 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder (+6), putting the Lakers up 3-2 in this Western Conference quarterfinal and leaving Oklahoma City in need of a win at home on Friday night.
It can be perplexing sometimes to follow the Lakers and wonder why they don’t play like this more often. But sometimes the opponents make it difficult.
The Thunder is one of the best defensive teams in the NBA, ranking No. 8 in the league in efficiency at 101.6 points allowed per 100 possessions. Oklahoma City held L.A. to under 100 points in each of the first four games and grabbed the cash three times.
The Lakers didn’t make any drastic changes on offense in Game 5, other than to move the ball with a lot more purpose, loosening up the OKC defenders and allowing the defending champions to get the ball inside to Pau Gasol (25 points, 11 rebounds) and Andrew Bynum (21 points, 11 rebounds). Kobe Bryant limited himself to nine shot attempts while dishing out seven assists in a facilitating role.
Bryant also disrupted the Oklahoma City offense by switching to defend point guard Russell Westbrook, who turned the ball over eight times on Tuesday and shot just 4-of-13 from the field. As coach Phil Jackson pointed out, the Lakers were able to defend better in part because they were making their shots on offense, allowing Bryant and the perimeter players to get set at the other end. But the Thunder were also held to just nine points on 22 possessions in transition.
The other notable adjustment by the Lakers has to do with Ron Artest. He shaved his colorful hairdo, but more importantly, Artest found himself left open at the post for some easy points, finishing the day with 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting. Artest’s offensive abilities are in decline and he has a tendency to fire up ill-advised shots from long range. That wasn’t the case in Game 5 with the Lakers taking an early lead and never relenting.
Even with the champs looking so good, the betting odds for Game 6 have the Thunder pegged at -1½ to extend this series. Home-court advantage is the underlying theme for the first round of this year’s playoffs with the home side going 25-13-1 ATS heading into Thursday’s action and 4-1 ATS in this series. Oklahoma City is 14-9 ATS at the Ford Center this year against winning teams, while the Lakers are 7-16 ATS on the road against teams above .500.
Arena officials will be handing out free T-shirts again to re-create the “Blue Out” effect we saw when the Thunder won twice at home.
If you like to use the zigzag theory in every single game of a series, and not just in the second of back-to-back games in the same arena, then Oklahoma City has a lot to offer. Scotty Brooks went from anonymity to Coach of the Year in 2010; he’s made smart adjustments of his own in the first round, including the decision to use Kevin Durant to defend against Bryant. More corrections will be made in Game 6.
Oklahoma City is an astounding 29-12 ATS this year after scoring under 100 points in its previous contest. Los Angeles is 19-31-3 ATS after allowing under 100 points.
Still not convinced about the No. 8 seed? The Thunder have handled the small favorite role with ease this year, going 16-8 ATS when laying fewer than five points. The Lakers are 2-9 ATS as underdogs of the same size. And yet the consensus reports at press time had L.A. pulling in 85 percent support. Some things never change.