Last Updated on May 2, 2010 12:00 pm by drew
Lakers-Jazz Pick
The Los Angeles Lakers continue their NBA Title defense on Sunday when they open the second round of the 2010 NBA Playoffs against the Utah Jazz.
The Lakers are the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference while the Jazz are the No. 5 seed.
Oddsmakers from online sports book Sportsbook.com have made L.A. the clear favorites to win the series with a money line of -450 while the Jazz have a line of +340.
The Lakers won the season series with Utah, winning three out of four games during the year. The Lakers decisively won the series as well, as all three wins came by at least 14 points.
The Lakers are the top seed in the West and had a 57-25 record for the season but they are just 34-46-2 against the spread during games. L.A. is coming off a 4-2 series win over Oklahoma City in which the Lakers disposed of the Thunder on the road. Pau Gasol tipped in the game-winner with less than a second remaining on the clock. Kobe Bryant averaged 23.5 points per-game during the series while shooting 40.8 percent from the floor and 42.9 percent from 3-point land.
Utah is the No. 5 seed in the West and the Jazz were 53-29 during the season. Utah defeated No. 4 Denver, 4-2 in the first round of the playoffs. The Jazz were 3-0 at home during the series. Deron Williams averaged 25.4 points per-game in the series while also dishing out 68 assists in six games. Williams shot 49.4 percent from the field in the series and 48.2 percent from 3-point land. Carlos Boozer had 22.5 points and 13.3 rebounds per-game during the series. Boozer shot 58.3 percent from the field in the series.
The Jazz have the talent to defeat Los Angeles, but Utah never seems to find a way to put it all together to make a run in the playoffs. Utah should pose a lot of problems at home and with Los Angeles banged up, look for the Jazz to take the series to seven games. With Andrei Kirilenko expected to return to Utah during the series, we think it is worth the chance to go with Utah in the series as they will have a much bigger payout.
Our NBA Playoff Series Free Pick for this matchup is: UTAH +340
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Utah’s last 5 games when playing LA Lakers
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Utah’s last 6 games
Utah is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
Utah is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of the LA Lakers last 5 games when playing Utah
LA Lakers are 5-0 SU in their last 5 games when playing at home against Utah
LA Lakers are 11-2 SU in their last 13 games at home
LA Lakers are 5-1 SU in their last 6 games when playing Utah
UTAH
(!)[C] 04/28/2010 – Mehmet Okur out for season ( Achilles )
[F] 04/29/2010 – Andrei Kirilenko is downgraded to doubtful
LA LAKERS
[C] 04/30/2010 – D.J. Mbenga is upgraded to probable
[G] 04/27/2010 – Sasha Vujacic expected to miss 2-3 more weeks ( Ankle )
Los Angeles Lakers -450
Utah Jazz +340
Lakers vs. Jazz Series Schedule:
Sunday May 2, at L.A., 3:30PM on ABC
Tuesday, May 4, at LA, 10:30PM on TNT
Saturday, May 8, at Utah, 8PM on ABC
Monday, May 10, at Utah, 10:30PM on TNT
*Wednesday, May 12 at L.A., TBA on TNT
*Friday, May 14 at Utah, TBA on ESPN
*Monday, May 17, at L.A., 9PM on TNT
*If Necessary
Posted: 5/2/10 12:00PM ET