The Los Angeles Lakers are not trying to gain home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. They’re not trying to get the top seed. They’re merely trying to get into the field.
Why Memphis Will Win
Online Bet on Sports students who want to add a little intrigue to their week might be interested in making an underdog play on the Lakers here, but why would they want to? The Lakers are not “The Lakers” in this game, and they frankly haven’t been “The Lakers” for most of the season, save a brief flurry in the late-winter weeks when Dwight Howard flourished for a period of time. The Lakers had been playing a better brand of ball after the All-Star break, but they've been reduced to a lesser version because of injuries. Steve Nash is banged up and has missedsome recent games for head coach Mike D’Antoni. Kobe Bryant sprained his ankle and is far from 100 percent at a time when his team needs him to be at his best. Bryant has played quite well under the circumstances, but against an upper-tier team such as Memphis – one that has top-quality wing defenders such as Tony Allen and Tayshaun Prince – it is going to be very hard for Bryant to produce one of his best games of the season on Friday night. The Grizzlies are in very good position to contain Kobe and, by extension, the Lakers’ offense as a whole. Memphis is going to enjoy some important matchup advantages for all the reasons that have been stated up to this point. Yet, none of this touches on the fact that the Lakers are also without Metta World Peace, a player who gave them energy and defense even when shots weren’t falling. The Lakers are simply missing too many important pieces at this late and urgent hour. The Grizzlies should be able to wear them down and find the matchups they like in the fourth quarter. Maybe the Lakers will put up a good fight – that’s a reasonable thing to say. Is it likely that the Lakers will prevail? No, not at all.
Why Los Angeles Will Win
With an online horse betting guru or a college football betting expert, the calculus of a given event can take surprising turns. At the end of the day, one needs to realize that Memphis is capable of brilliance and ineptitude at the same time. The Grizzlies, just a few weeks ago, lost to the Washington Wizards, which requires a considerable amount of sloppiness and inattentiveness at both ends of the floor. The Grizzlies can beat the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs at home, as they have in fact done over the past three weeks, but then turn around and look horrible against foes they should easily be able to thump. The Lakers are the more motivated team here, and they’re playing at home on a Friday night. Even without many key players, they zapped the Dallas Mavericks by 20 points at home on Tuesday. That game was something of an elimination game in the NBA playoff race. The Lakers, having played a high-stakes battle earlier this week, can easily carry their energy into this contest and thrive as well.
SPORTS ROOM PRECISION PREDICTION!!!
The sense here is that Memphis, which is playing for the third seed in the West, has enough incentive of its own to compete at a high level and grab a win. The Grizzlies should be able to fend off the Lakers. Click here to get more information on the latest basketball betting odds.
Precision Prediction Pick: Memphis Grizzlies
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