NBA Betting Picks: Bulls, Lakers Deal With Injuries to Star Players
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
by BetUS.com
Anybody into NBA betting knows that when you have star players slowed down, you've got a problem, and the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers are in the process of having to deal with injuries to their star players on Tuesday night.
Chicago, with Derrick Rose nursing a sprained ankle, will be laying 9.5 points to the Indiana Pacers as they try to close out their series, while the Lakers are favored by 10.5 points over the New Orleans Hornets with a foot injury bothering Kobe Bryant. In other NBA action, the Atlanta Hawks will try to end things against the Orlando Magic, and they are getting 7.5 points in the NBA betting line.
NBA Betting
Indiana Pacers at Chicago Bulls
East Playoffs - Game 5
(Bulls lead 3-1)
Live at United Center
Chicago, IL
Tuesday, April 26 -- 8 PM ET
NBA Betting Odds:
Chicago -9.5
Indiana +9.5
Total 187
We know that the Bulls are the team in this matchup that is known for its defense, but the Pacers are the ones who have done the defensive job so far, limiting #1-seeded Chicago under 40% shooting in each of the last three games, and they are just shy of having covered all four games in the NBA betting odds. The games in this series have been decided by a total of 20 points, so nobody seems to be running away with anything. The injury to Chicago point guard Derrick Rose, who everybody has already give the MVP award to, won't be enough to keep him out of the game, but like all sprained ankles, this one may slow him down a step.
Let's forget about defense for a second; Rose has not been a very accurate shooter in this series (35%), doing most of his damage at the free throw line. He's going to be the guy with the ball in his hands - that much is inevitable - and so legitimate questions have to be raised as to whether the Bulls' offense is going to operate at peak efficiency, or if Rose can muster a better shooting night. We're thinking we may be looking at another basketball betting "under" in this set where neither team appears ready for a bustout performance.
BetUS Sportsbook JAY'S PLAY: UNDER 187 ***
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
NBA Betting
New Orleans Hornets at Los Angeles Lakers
West Playoffs - Game 5
(Series tied 2-2)
Live at Staples Center
Los Angeles, CA
Tuesday, April 26 -- 10:30 PM ET
NBA Betting Odds:
L.A. Lakers -10.5
New Orleans +10.5
Total 183
By rights, the Lakers shouldn't have had much trouble in this series, but when you think about it, they haven't played very well for any sustained period of time for a while. In fact, Phil Jackson's team has covered just two of its last eleven games against the NBA betting lines, and the sense is that either they are looking ahead to the next challenge in the West playoffs, or they think they can just turn it on or off at will. I'm sure they didn't expect the series would be knotted up after four games.
But here they are, and they've got a headache with Chris Paul, who had a triple-double (27 points, 15 assists, 13 rebounds) in Game 4, and how the hell he was able to slither into the lane and grab some boards against the Laker bigs is something L.A. better have an answer for. Kobe Bryant is dealing with the foot injury he suffered in the last game, but he will be in there and maybe Trevor Ariza and the other Hornets can force him into some bad shots. What we really wonder about is how Los Angeles will handle defending Paul, because they were using Kobe to do a lot of that. New Orleans has some heart, and the points may be worth looking at in NBA betting action.
BetUS Sportsbook JAY'S PLAY: NEW ORLEANS +10.5 **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
NBA Betting
Atlanta Hawks at Orlando Magic
East Playoffs - Game 5
(Hawks lead 3-1)
Live at Amway Center
Orlando, FL
Tuesday, April 26 -- 7:30 PM ET
NBA Betting Odds:
Orlando -7.5
Atlanta +7.5
Total 178
I don't know how many people figured Atlanta might be up 3-1 at this point, but it certainly looks like they are getting some revenge for that awful sweep they suffered at Orlando's hand last year, which got coach Mike Woodson fired. From this NBA betting line it looks like people may be conceding this game to the Magic, with their backs to the wall and all that. This team has been missing some chemistry, not just this year but last as well, and I think they thought they could recapture some of it by bringing back Hedo Turkoglu.
Well, Turkoglu is shooting 23% in this series, and while Dwight Howard has been extremely hard to cover, the Hawks know by now that he is prone to mistakes when passing out of double teams. When you put up ONE assist with 26 turnovers, you know the net benefit to your team is minimized. And that is not an MVP credential. Atlanta has won six of the seven encounters with Orlando this season, and covered each of the last eight. In an ongoing series which is low-scoring to begin with, why wouldn't we be interested in taking all these points in the NBA betting odds?
BetUS Sportsbook JAY'S PLAY: ATLANTA +7.5 ****
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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amway center - atlanta hawks - chicago bulls - chris paul - derrick rose - dwight howard - hedo turkoglu - indiana pacers - kobe bryant - los angeles lakers
