NBA Basketball Betting Picks: Los Angeles Lakers @ Indiana
Added on Jan 27, 2010 by Jack Thurman in
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Back to the sportsbooks for NBA betting action tonight with 12 games on the board. We’ll take a look at the LA Lakers/Indiana matchup. We used the Pacers successfully against Washington on Monday night and will look for more opportunities to play on them as the season progresses. They’re playing better as a team and have their best player, Danny Granger, back in the lineup. Lakers played last night at Washington.
Los Angeles Lakers at Indiana Pacers
January 27, 4:05 PM Pacific
Lakers won and covered last night as a -8 road favorite, but they haven’t been a good investment away from the Staples Center this season. They’re only 7-12 ATS on the road and only 2-4 ATS in this price range (road favorite of -3′ to -6 points). They’ve only covered 8 of their last 18 games, which isn’t surprising for a ‘public’ team that as NBA champions get everyone’s best shot every night–and particularly on the road. This is game #5 on an eight game road trip and having played four games in six days fatigue and/or lack of focus could be a problem here against a foe that won’t provide any intrinsic motivation. Lakers are tied with Cleveland for the best record in the NBA, but they’ve got a fair amount of breathing room in the West where they lead Denver by 3 1/2 games. The biggest game on this trip will take place on Sunday when the Lakers head to Boston, so this might be a spot for them to take a ‘breather’ or at least come out flat.
As we mentioned above, Pacers are improving and their YTD records don’t tell the whole story. Since Danny Granger’s return they’ve been a different team, covering 8 of their last 10 games. They’ve got a good opportunity to score a couple of big victories this week, with Cleveland coming in on Friday night. As a conference foe, Cleveland should have a greater focus for the matchup and particularly if the Pacers put up a good effort against the Lakers here. From a handicapping standpoint, we’ve got a visitor that will gain no special motivation from the Pacers in the middle of a long road trip in the second of back to back games. Pacers have played the Lakers tough historically at home (10-5 SU/ATS run) and have split the last two games. Indiana lost by two last year at The Staples Center, so we’ve got every reason to think they can be competitive here.
Bet Indiana +6 over Los Angeles Lakers
