Superstars Collide – Kobe vs Lebron
BetUS NBA Basketball Betting Odds: L.A. LAKERS -4.5, Total 202.5
Here are some of the NBA pro basketball online betting trends as they relate to this matchup:
* CLEV has won 12 of its last 15 games SU
* CLEV has covered four of its last five games * CLEV has played four of its last six games UNDER the total
* CLEV has lost three of its last four road games SU
* CLEV has covered one of its last five road games
* CLEV has played five of its last seven road games UNDER the total
* LA has won 10 of its last 13 games SU
* LA has covered two of its last seven games
* LA has played four of its last five games OVER the total
* LA has won 17 of its last 20 home games SU
* LA has covered four of its last 12 home games
* LA has played five of its last seven home games OVER the total
Also…
* CLEV has won the last five meetings SU
* CLEV has covered six of the last seven meetings
* Four of the last five meetings have gone UNDER the total
* LA has won seven of the last nine meetings SU as the home team
* CLEV has covered six of the last nine meetings as the road team
* CLEV has had the shooting edge in six of the last eight meetings
* CLEV has made more three-pointers in five of the last six meetings
Cleveland continues to win, but there may be a speed bump or two in the near future. Not only is the team missing center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who broke his ankle a couple of weeks ago, they will be without Delonte West, the victim of a broken wrist, for the next month and a half.
What they’ve had to do is rely a bit more on Sasha Pavlovic, who’s recently been installed as a starter, and Wally Szczerbiak coming off the bench. Pavlovic had 19 points against New Orleans on Saturday, hitting all four of his three-point shots. Wally Z. has played 60 minutes over the last two contests, and the Cavs hope he can step it up, as he’s tallied in double figures in just two of his last 11 games. Anderson Varejao has been starting as well, and we’re not all that enthused about his production in the last three games (15 points and ten rebounds TOTAL), although he was doing pretty well just prior to that.
LeBron James has upped his scoring average recently, with 31.3 ppg in his last four. What’s just as impressive, however, is that he’s had two triple-doubles in his last seven, and 33 defensive rebounds in his last three. What else can he do to fill up a stat sheet? Well, he’s averaging 6.7 assists and has had at least one blocked shot in each of his last 12 contests.
The Lakers are not without their injuries. Luke Walton, who has a foot injury, may be returning to action in this game and that would certainly be welcome. Sasha Vujacic is having back spasms; he missed two games, then came back to play 13 minutes against Orlando and went scoreless. Derek Fisher has been slowed by a groin injury, and although he could be okay here, he could also use somebody like Jordan Farmar to help him handle Cavs’ guard Mo Williams. But Farmar is out until after the All-Star break.
It is quite clear that Cleveland rises to the occasion when they play this team. The Cavs have covered six of the last seven meetings, including a two-game sweep of the Lakers last season, and they have won the last two times they have played at the Staples Center. Cleveland is 27-11 ATS overall, and the Lakers have been a streaky pointspread team; after dropping ten straight to the number, they scored five consecutive ATS wins, and now have covered two of their last seven. The home loss to Orlando the other night may have told us something about this team, in its present state at least. We’ll take the points with the Cavs, the 4.5-point underdog in the BetUS NBA pro basketball sports betting odds.
