NBA Basketball Betting: Gasol To Blame For Lakers Playoff Struggles?
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
by Bodog Sportsbook
The Los Angeles Lakers are in a war with the New Orleans Hornets because their second-best player is choking. Now their best player is hurt, and they risk getting bounced from the NBA playoffs early unless something changes fast.
The Hornets-Lakers series is surprisingly tied at two wins apiece after New Orleans’ 93-88 win on Sunday. Pau Gasol has been almost useless in four games against the Hornets and, to make matters worse, Kobe Bryant injured his ankle in Game 4. Bryant expects to play, but he likely won’t be anywhere close to 100 percent for Game 5 on Tuesday.
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Los Angeles is averaging just 93.7 points per game in the series; that means somebody else needs to pick up the slack, and it’s hard to believe it’ll be Gasol. Gasol has been nothing short of miserable so far, averaging just 12.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per game in the series. He’s shooting better over his past two outings, but the Lakers are still waiting for a dominating performance.
In that regard, perhaps Gasol should take a cue from Chris Paul. Paul had an up-and-down season with the Hornets, and he certainly didn’t look like himself thanks to a slew of injuries. That feels like ages ago, however, as Paul has looked like an MVP during the first four games of this series.
Paul was out of control on Sunday, racking up a triple double with 27 points, 15 assists and 13 rebounds. Paul is averaging 25.5 points, 11.5 assists, 7.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals in the series while shooting 57.1 percent from the field. It’s even more impressive considering the Hornets have been without leading-scorer David West, who is finished for the season with an injury.
With West out, Carl Landry and Trevor Ariza have picked up bigger offensive roles. Thanks largely to Paul’s superb efforts, they’re averaging 17.0 and 14.8 points per game, respectively.
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carl landry - chris paul - david west - kobe bryant - los angeles lakers - nba playoffs - new orleans hornets - pau gasol - trevor ariza
