NBA Odds: Celtics Can End It In Game 6
The Celtics and Lakers alternated wins and spread covers the first four games of the NBA Finals. That betting symmetry ended in Game 5 on Sunday when Boston won its second straight to grab a 3-2 series lead heading back to LA. Kobe Bryant was a one-man show for Los Angeles with 38 points in the 92-86 loss while Paul Pierce scored 27 to lead the C's who can wrap it up on Tuesday at Staples Center.
This is it for the Los Angeles Lakers in their quest for a second consecutive basketball championship. Win two at home – or stay home. We’ll find out if the Lakers are up to the task in Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Tuesday night (9 p.m. ET, ABC) at Staples Center.
The Boston Celtics are only one win away from their second crown in three years after dropping L.A. 92-86 in Game 5 at TD Garden on Sunday night. With the win, the Celtics became the first team in the series to win two games in a row, breaking the zigzag theory dominance that had defined the Finals.
Oddsmakers expect the Lakers to bounce back and force a Game 7 on Tuesday night, pricing them as 6½-point favorites on the NBA betting board. The total is set at 188 after opening at 187½ following Boston’s Game 5 win.
Thing is, the ‘under’ is the sharpest wager on Tuesday night. The teams are 1-5-1 O/U in seven meetings this season (including the regular season), and Los Angeles’ offense has been trending downwards all series.
After scoring 102 points in their 13-point win as 6-point chalk in the opener, the Lakers have scored 94, 91, 89, and 86 points in succession. The extent to which Boston’s defense is wearing down L.A.’s triangle offense is like clockwork.
If that trend isn’t bad enough, the Lakers got an excellent performance from Kobe Bryant in Game 5, but dropped the cash anyway. Bryant went for 38 points on 13 of 27 shooting, but only one other Los Angeles player scored in double figures.
Kobe has found his stride in the last two games, but the Lakers are headed in the other direction in spite of his play. In what has been a bizzarro Finals from a handicapping perspective, it’s seemingly the case that the better Bryant performs, the worse off is L.A.
Expect the Lakers to establish Pau Gasol in the early going on Tuesday night after Kevin Garnett outfoxed him for the better part of the three games in Boston. Gasol had 12 points and 12 rebounds in Game 5, but he didn’t get to his spots like he did in the first two games of the series.
One player that did get where he wanted on the floor on Sunday night was Paul Pierce (27 points), who was the best man on the court outside of Bryant. The Celts used a screen and roll involving Ron Artest and a Laker big man extensively in Game 5, and the move paid dividends.
Andrew Bynum played 32 minutes on Sunday night despite the slight tear to the meniscus in his right knee, but he managed only six points and one rebound – all in the first quarter.
It’s no coincidence the momentum shift in Boston’s favor has happened in conjunction with Bynum’s health. Bynum played only 12 minutes because of the injury in the Celtics’ 96-89 win as 4-point faves in Game 4, and clearly isn’t the same player he was earlier in the series. The 7-foot center is holding on by a thread, and L.A. could be running out of time.
The good news is the Lakers are sure to be desperate with their title hopes on the line on Tuesday night, and they’ll be playing on their home floor. After all, all the Celts have done to this point is hold serve.
Los Angeles is 9-1 SU and 6-4 ATS at Staples Center in the postseason, with its 103-94 loss to Boston (+6) in Game 2 of the Finals its only defeat in Tinseltown in the playoffs.
Overall, the Celtics are 2-1 SU and against the number in Los Angeles this season, although their 1-point win there during the regular season came without Bryant in the lineup.
Boston also has to be concerned that it barely escaped in Game 5 despite controlling some key statistical categories. The Celtics shot 56.3% (40 of 71) from the field on Sunday night while holding the Lakers to 39.7% (31 of 78) shooting, but they only won by six points.
Boston also led in fastbreak points (14-3) and points in the paint (46-32), but L.A was close to the payday for the bulk of the fourth quarter.
If the teams regress to the mean in Game 6 – even slightly – bettors are headed for Game 7 on Thursday night.
The Celtics and Lakers alternated wins and spread covers the first four games of the NBA Finals. That betting symmetry ended in Game 5 on Sunday when Boston won its second straight to grab a 3-2 series lead heading back to LA. Kobe Bryant was a one-man show for Los Angeles with 38 points in the 92-86 loss while Paul Pierce scored 27 to lead the C's who can wrap it up on Tuesday at Staples Center.
This is it for the Los Angeles Lakers in their quest for a second consecutive basketball championship. Win two at home – or stay home. We’ll find out if the Lakers are up to the task in Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Tuesday night (9 p.m. ET, ABC) at Staples Center.
The Boston Celtics are only one win away from their second crown in three years after dropping L.A. 92-86 in Game 5 at TD Garden on Sunday night. With the win, the Celtics became the first team in the series to win two games in a row, breaking the zigzag theory dominance that had defined the Finals.
Oddsmakers expect the Lakers to bounce back and force a Game 7 on Tuesday night, pricing them as 6½-point favorites on the NBA betting board. The total is set at 188 after opening at 187½ following Boston’s Game 5 win.
Thing is, the ‘under’ is the sharpest wager on Tuesday night. The teams are 1-5-1 O/U in seven meetings this season (including the regular season), and Los Angeles’ offense has been trending downwards all series.
After scoring 102 points in their 13-point win as 6-point chalk in the opener, the Lakers have scored 94, 91, 89, and 86 points in succession. The extent to which Boston’s defense is wearing down L.A.’s triangle offense is like clockwork.
If that trend isn’t bad enough, the Lakers got an excellent performance from Kobe Bryant in Game 5, but dropped the cash anyway. Bryant went for 38 points on 13 of 27 shooting, but only one other Los Angeles player scored in double figures.
Kobe has found his stride in the last two games, but the Lakers are headed in the other direction in spite of his play. In what has been a bizzarro Finals from a handicapping perspective, it’s seemingly the case that the better Bryant performs, the worse off is L.A.
Expect the Lakers to establish Pau Gasol in the early going on Tuesday night after Kevin Garnett outfoxed him for the better part of the three games in Boston. Gasol had 12 points and 12 rebounds in Game 5, but he didn’t get to his spots like he did in the first two games of the series.
One player that did get where he wanted on the floor on Sunday night was Paul Pierce (27 points), who was the best man on the court outside of Bryant. The Celts used a screen and roll involving Ron Artest and a Laker big man extensively in Game 5, and the move paid dividends.
Andrew Bynum played 32 minutes on Sunday night despite the slight tear to the meniscus in his right knee, but he managed only six points and one rebound – all in the first quarter.
It’s no coincidence the momentum shift in Boston’s favor has happened in conjunction with Bynum’s health. Bynum played only 12 minutes because of the injury in the Celtics’ 96-89 win as 4-point faves in Game 4, and clearly isn’t the same player he was earlier in the series. The 7-foot center is holding on by a thread, and L.A. could be running out of time.
The good news is the Lakers are sure to be desperate with their title hopes on the line on Tuesday night, and they’ll be playing on their home floor. After all, all the Celts have done to this point is hold serve.
Los Angeles is 9-1 SU and 6-4 ATS at Staples Center in the postseason, with its 103-94 loss to Boston (+6) in Game 2 of the Finals its only defeat in Tinseltown in the playoffs.
Overall, the Celtics are 2-1 SU and against the number in Los Angeles this season, although their 1-point win there during the regular season came without Bryant in the lineup.
Boston also has to be concerned that it barely escaped in Game 5 despite controlling some key statistical categories. The Celtics shot 56.3% (40 of 71) from the field on Sunday night while holding the Lakers to 39.7% (31 of 78) shooting, but they only won by six points.
Boston also led in fastbreak points (14-3) and points in the paint (46-32), but L.A was close to the payday for the bulk of the fourth quarter.
If the teams regress to the mean in Game 6 – even slightly – bettors are headed for Game 7 on Thursday night.
