THURSDAY APRIL 29, 2010 – Los Angeles vs Oklahoma City
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NBA Betting – Lakers Will Close Out Thunder
Team records:
Los Angeles: 57-25 SU, 34-46-2 ATS
Oklahoma City: 50-32 SU, 48-34 ATS
The Los Angeles Lakers have had their hands full with the Oklahoma City Thunder through five games in their first round series.
While No. 1 seeds normally don’t have this tough of a time, the Thunder are a fairly special No. 8 seed.
In the NHL, we saw the top team in the Eastern Conference lose in seven games on their home ice to the No. 8 seed and while those circumstances are different, the Lakers could see the same result if they let this series go seven games.
The Ford Center has been a raucous environment for the Lakers in Games 3 and 4 but there is reason to believe that they will be able to weather the storm a little bit better.
Game 6: Los Angeles Lakers @ Oklahoma City Thunder
Betting Odds: – Thunder: -1.5 (-110)
Lakers: +1.5 (-110)
Total: Over/Under 195 -110
For starters, it looked like something finally clicked for them in Game 5 when they pounded the Thunder on the inside with Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol.
Furthermore, Lamar Odom and Ron Artest also got into the action and the Lakers didn’t have to rely solely on Kobe Bryant to win them the game. In Game 6, they’ll have to – at least in certain points.
There were a couple of big differences for the Thunder in Game 5 that really through their momentum and confidence off. For starters, they couldn’t get to the free throw line with ease.
Combined through Games 3 and 4, the Thunder went to the free throw line 80. In Game 4 alone, of the 110 points they scored, 42 came from the free throw line (38%).
When they weren’t getting the freebies in Game 4, all of the sudden their offense completely came apart and they were blown out.
That’s going to change in Game 6 and they are going to make more shots, get to the free throw line more often and score more points now that they are back at home. But it is clear that if the Lakers aren’t putting them on the line, the Thunder struggle.
The Lakers made some adjustments in Game 5 by swapping Bryant off of Kevin Durant and putting him on Russell Westbrook. It threw off Westbrook and drained less of Bryant’s energy on defense.
But the biggest difference in Game 5 was the two days rest in between games. The Lakers looked old and slow in Game 4 but with a couple of days off, they bounced back very well. Once again, they get a couple of days off and with a better blue print of how to beat the Thunder, they are going to hang around in this contest the entire way.
The Lakers can blow out the Thunder at home but on the road it will be tough sledding. But expect the Lakers to do just enough in the fourth quarter to put the Thunder away.
Lakers vs Thunder Free Game 6 NBA Pick: Lakers
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Dave Golokhov has written for BETUS Sportsbook, Sportsfanmagazine.com, FOX, Askmen.com, Sports-central.org, and the FOXSports.com Funhouse.
