2010 NBA Finals – Lakers vs. Celtics Picks & Predictions

Last Updated on June 3, 2010 4:00 pm by drew

NBA Finals Series Pick

Two teams remain in the 2010 NBA Playoffs as the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers begin the 2010 NBA Finals on Thursday night at 9PM ET.

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The Lakers are the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference while the Celtics are the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Oddsmakers from online sports book Sportsbook.com have made

Los Angeles the clear favorites to win the series with a money line of -180 while the Celtics have a line of +150.

In three meetings during the regular season, the Lakers won two games and the Celtics one. Each game was decided by just one point and the team that shot a better percentage from the field won the game. The team that had more rebounds actually lost each contest.

The Lakers reached the NBA Finals by defeating

Oklahoma City in six games to open the playoffs.
L.A. then followed with a sweep of
Utah in the second round and a six-game series win over

Phoenix in the Western Conference Finals. The Lakers are averaging 105.7 points per-game in the playoffs while shooting 47.7 percent.

L.A.’s opponents are scoring 101.7 points per-game while shooting 43.7 percent.

Boston has had an unlikely path to the finals as they opened with a 4-1 series win over Dwayne Wade and

Miami. The Celtics then disposed of LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in six games before beating Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic in six games in the Eastern Conference Finals. During the playoffs, the Celtics are scoring 96.6 points per-game while shooting 46.1 percent from the field.

Boston is allowing just 91.4 points per-game and holding opponents to 43.8 percent shooting.

This is a tough series to call as the Celtics have looked great the entire postseason and they can give the Lakers problems on defense, as they have the bodies to play man-to-man in the post and give more defensive attention to limiting Kobe Bryant. Still, the Lakers have a great defense that should be able to keep Rajon Rondo from causing too many problems. We see this being a very back-and-forth playoff series but ultimately the Lakers have the better coach and the best player on the floor at all times, and we like them to win in seven games.

Our NBA Finals Series Free Pick for this matchup is:

L.A. LAKERS -180

(Note: This free pick is for the entire seven game series and is not to be confused with our daily NBA picks, which are for individual games.)

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BOSTON is 1-8 ATS (-7.8 Units) against Pacific division opponents this season.

BOSTON is 9-20 ATS (-13.0 Units) in non-conference games this season.

LA LAKERS are 15-5 ATS (+9.5 Units) in home games when playing with 3 or more days rest over the last 3 seasons.

BOSTON is 41-25 ATS (+13.5 Units) as an underdog over the last 3 seasons.

BOSTON is 84-63 ATS (+14.7 Units) in road games over the last 3 seasons.

BOSTON is 31-19 ATS (+10.1 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.

LA LAKERS are 43-53 ATS (-15.3 Units) in all games this season.

LA LAKERS are 34-42 ATS (-12.2 Units) as a favorite this season.

Head-to-Head Series History

BOSTON is 9-2 against the spread versus LA LAKERS over the last 3 seasons 

BOSTON is 7-5 straight up against LA LAKERS over the last 3 seasons 

7 of 12 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons 

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BOSTON

[C] 05/27/2010 – Kendrick Perkins is upgraded to probable Friday vs. Orlando ( Not Suspended ) 

[F] 05/26/2010 – Rasheed Wallace is upgraded to probable Friday vs.

Orlando ( Back ) 

[G] 05/26/2010 – Marquis Daniels is downgraded to doubtful Friday vs.

Orlando ( Concussion ) 

[F] 05/28/2010 – Glen Davis is upgraded to probable Friday vs.

Orlando ( Concussion ) 

LA LAKERS

No significant injuries.

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Boston Celtics +150

Los Angeles Lakers -180

Lakers vs. Celtics Series Schedule:

Thursday, June 3 at

L.A., 9PM ET on ABC

Sunday, June 6 at

L.A., 8PM ET on ABC

Tuesday, June 8 at

Boston, 9PM ET on ABC

Thursday, June 10 at

Boston, 9PM ET on ABC

*Sunday, June 13 at

Boston, 8PM ET on ABC

*Tuesday, June 15 at

L.A., 9PM ET on ABC

*Thursday, June 17 at

L.A., 9PM ET on ABC

*If Necessary

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Posted: 6/3/10 4:00PM ET