NBA Finals Picks – Looking For an Outright Upset in Game 2
Sunday, June 06, 2010
by BetUS.com
NBA Finals picks continue here at BetUS Sportsbook with Game 2, as the Los Angeles Lakers look to take a commanding 2-0 series lead over the Boston Celtics.
On Thursday night, Los Angeles Lakers did something that it couldn't do in six games in the NBA Finals two years ago: Cover a spread against the Celtics. Boston went 4-2 SU and 6-0 ATS in that series. However, a 102-89 Lakers victory got this series off on the right foot for the purple and gold.
Boston Celtics (62-38, 45-53-2 ATS) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (70-29, 43-53-3 ATS)
Game Date/Time: Sunday, June 6th, 8:00 ET
Game Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
TV/Radio Broadcast: ABC, TSN, Sirius
NBA Finals Odds
Boston Celtics +6
Los Angeles Lakers -6
Game Total 190
The bottom line for the boys in green is that they are going to have to play a more physical brand of basketball to win the NBA Championship. They were outrebounded by a 42-31 margin and had seven shots rejected.
F Paul Pierce did his part, scoring 24 points to lead the team in scoring, but both G Ray Allen (12 points) and G Rajon Rondo (13 points) need to step their games up and put together better offensive efforts, as 89 points won't cut it in this series.
F Kevin Garnett shot 7/16 from the floor and scored 16 points, but he had a tough time on the glass, pulling down just four boards.
A lot of the reason for that is because F Pau Gasol was eating up every rebound in sight on Thursday night. Gasol had 14 points to complement his 23 points and three blocked shots on the night.
G Kobe Bryant scored 30 points and had seven boards and six assists to lead the Lakers. It marked his fifth straight game in which he scored at least 30 points.
LA had a great offensive showing, shooting 48.7 percent from the floor against a defense which has notoriously held foes under 45 percent in games throughout these playoffs.
Both F Ron Artest (15) and C Andrew Bynum (10) reached double digits in scoring.
If there is one knock on the effort of the purple and gold from Game 1, it is that the bench wasn't overly productive. Normally a star of a sixth man, F Lamar Odom was bothered by foul trouble all night and only had five points and four boards. The bench only chipped in 15 total points in the victory.
NBA Finals Insider Tip: The Celtics have covered five straight games when allowing at least 100 points in the previous game and are 4-0 ATS in their L/4 playoff betting battles on two days of rest.
The Celtics know that they are up against a wall in terms of winning this series, as HC Phil Jackson has never lost a series in which his teams have gone on to win Game 1.
However, after getting "out-physicalled" on Thursday night, HC Doc Rivers is inevitably going to have his team ready to bang, and we expect a much better effort, particularly on the glass. KG is the key to this wager as the success of his defense and boxing out of Gasol will ultimately determine if we cash this ticket or not. He got punked in Game 1, so I expect an excellent effort to be put forth by him the second time around.
We're looking for an outright upset for our NBA Finals free picks in Game 2.
BetUS Sportsbook NBA Playoff Prediction: Boston by 6
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boston celtics - los angeles lakers - nba championship - nba finals - phil jackson - staples center