Nick Parsons Available Picks

June, 15 2008 9:05pm EST
ATS: Los Angeles Lakers -7 (-110)
LOSS for -2 unit(s)

Boston Celtics at Los Angeles Lakers

LAKERS – Anyone who thought this series would be four games in and the Lakers would not have covered the spread in a single game is very close to being a genius! In all seriousness, it has been simply amazing what the Celtics have done so far in this series. However, this doesn’t change the fact the Lakers are perhaps getting the best line value they’ve had so far in this series right here in Game Five. With having this game at home, where the Lakers have lost just once since late March, it certainly seems as if a seven point line is quite a favorable number for Los Angeles in this spot. The Lakers, because of Kobe Bryant and Coach Phil Jackson, are highly unlikely to just ‘pack it in’ because they’re down 3 games to 1 in this series. There is too much competitiveness on this team for that to happen. What should be expected here is for the Lakers to really push the tempo in this game and that is going to force the older Celtics to try to keep up. Los Angeles will take advantage of having had the last two days off and the Lakers will look to spread the floor a little bit and create some trouble for a Celtics defense that is a little long in the tooth! Offensively, Kobe Bryant should have a much bigger game in Game Five. This is  very significant because note that the Lakers had an 18 point lead at halftime of Game Four even though Bryant had yet to score from the field! That is simply amazing. This shows how much potential the Lakers have if Bryant has just an “average” game and if the Lakers stick to their game plan for the full forty-eight minutes. They seemed to “let up” in the second half of Game Four and that’s when the Celtics made their big push. Certainly give Boston credit for how well they played the last 18 minutes or so of that huge come-from-behind win. However, the Lakers will also make some adjustments here as Coach Jackson knows that he must “free up” Kobe Bryant again and he will make sure that is the case in tonight’s game. When it comes to match-ups in a playoff series it is often a “chess match” that involves tinkering after each game in the series. Look for the Lakers to make those proper adjustments in Game Five and, after blowing such a huge lead in Game Four, Los Angeles welcomed the two full days to recover both mentally and physically. As a result, this will be the best 48 minutes seen from the Lakers in this series. Instead of stopping at halftime, this time the Lakers carry their dominance all the way through and the result will be a Big Easy Win!