NBA Finals Rematch - Lakers Continue Brutal Road Trip In Orlando
by Tim Furious
When Orlando spent last summer overhauling their Eastern Conference Championship roster, they had two teams in mind. One was Cleveland, a team they dispatched in the playoffs because the supporting cast of LeBron James didn’t show up. The other was the Los Angeles Lakers, the team they lost the 2009 NBA Finals matchup against. There answer for Kobe Bryant was none other than Vince Carter and boy did he disappoint in the last meeting between these two.
Carter split time with Mickael Pietrus during the game because, as we all know, Vince doesn’t like playing defense especially if it’s against someone as demoralizing as Kobe Bryant. With just 9-points the entire game, Carter was the only starter amongst the Magic to score single digits with Dwight Howard exploding for 24-points and 12 rebounds. The Magic seemed lost in the fourth quarter as the Lakers opened the final leg of the game with an unanswered 15-point surge.
In that particular game, however, Kobe had one of his worst outings this season. He scored just 11-points on 4-of-19 shooting from the field. Since returning from an assortment of injuries, Bryant has finally regained some of his steam and hopefully that will mean the Lakers can cover. He’s averaged over 23.0 points per game since coming back, including a 39-point outburst in an overtime loss to the Miami Heat.
But the Lakers are a very worrisome road bet. Not including the matchup against Charlotte on Friday night, they’re just 3-4 SU in their last 7 road games and are a disappointing 2-4 ATS during that stretch. Thankfully for them, they’re 4-1 ATS when playing in Orlando but that won’t mean a thing on Sunday.
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Orlando Magic
Sunday, March 7th --- Amway Arena --- 2:30pm EST
NBA Betting Record: Orlando is 5-5 ATS against Lakers
The Magic are a nice 4-1 SU/ATS when playing at home with a straight up loss against a suddenly viscious Dallas Mavericks team and a spread loss to the New Orleans Hornets. Their home scoring takes a small jump to 104.1 points per game, averaging 9th in the league and their defense is one of the best when playing at home. They rank third in the league with 93.6 points per game allowed.
In the previous meeting between the two teams, the Lakers had a -6.5 point line to cover, and failed to do so in a 98-92 win. The line will come down heavily as Orlando plays the role of host on Sunday so expect a very tight line. That being said, this is Orlando’s game to lose. They have a layup matchup against New Jersey on Friday and, returning home to play the defending champs, they have everything in the world to prove. Expect a clumsy game from both teams as they try to thwart each other defensively but Orlando will even the season series at one apiece.
NBA Betting Line: Orlando -2.5 or higher
