I've seen a lot of talk on this board about how the Lakers aren't getting any respect and should be favored by more. Now I'm far from some expert capper or linemaker but the way I see it, on a neutral court, forgetting how hot/cold each team is, the Lakers would be about 6 point favorites.

Now we take the other factors into consideration:

2 pts for Suns being at home
1-1.5 pts for Suns being on a hot streak
1-1.5 pts for Lakers struggling as of late

That gives us the line we have now.