NBA Basketball
2011-02-22 - Atlanta Hawks at LA Lakers
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States: NBA Basketball
Tuesday 22 February 2011 - Tip-Off 10:30pm ET
3:30am (British Standard Time)
Preview
The NBA is clearly buzzing with the news that Carmelo Anthony has finally been traded to the New York Knicks (OK I will admit I am buzzing too knowing my Knicks are going to be for real). However, in LA this news will have caused few ripples as the Lakers (38-19) get ready for the second half of the season and the push towards the Play Offs. Catching the San Antonio Spurs as the Number 1 seed in the West is the aim, while the chances to do so will be determined in their next 11 games where the Lakers meet 8 teams that are likely to be involved in April-June.
The first of those is the Atlanta Hawks (34-21), a team that has silently been going about their business in the East, although they do look a little short to challenge the likes of Miami, Boston and Chicago.
Kobe Bryant won the MVP award at the All-Star game on Sunday and will now look to carry that kind of performance over to this game and erase the memories of the embarrassing loss the Lakers suffered in their last game to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
That was the 3rd consecutive loss suffered by the Lakers following a defeat in Orlando and a 20 point blowout in Charlotte. Andrew Bynum was particularly disappointing and the team will look to get back to the basics to improve.
While the Lakers were embarrassed, the Atlanta Hawks have their own bad memories to erase after dropping a stinker in Madison Square Garden and falling easily to the New York Knicks. Al Horford will continue in his recovery from injury and both he and Joe Johnson participated in the All-Star game too.
Head to Head
The teams split the season series 1-1 last season, both winning their home games.
The Lakers have won their last 4 home games against the Hawks by an average of 15.2 points per game. LA are also 3-1 against the spread in those games.
LA are a disappointing 10-17 against the spread at home this season, Atlanta are 16-13 on the road.
Other Interesting Notes
The Lakers are only 3-7 against the spread in their last 10 games against teams with winning records greater than 60%.
They have lost their last 4 against the spread as the home favourite.
Atlanta are 4-10 against the spread in their last 14 games against teams with winning records.
They have lost their last 5 against the spread against teams from the Western Conference.
Prediction
Kobe Bryant looked like he wanted to win the MVP award at the All-Star game as soon as he touched the ball for the first time and he will look to bring that game into the regular season as the Lakers look to close the gap on the Spurs at Number 1 in the West. The bad run of form before the All-Star break also meant the Lakers fell to Number 3 behind Dallas.
Atlanta have played much better on the road than they have at home as the Hawks are just sitting outside the talk of potential Eastern Conference winners. They have a solid team, but too often they falter against the better teams in the NBA.
I have to expect the Lakers will be ready for this game. They have a tough stretch in their schedule and you just know that Kobe has been pumping up Pau Gasol all through this weekend to start bringing his A Game.
The Hawks have generally struggled against the Western teams and against the better teams in the NBA overall and I think they may again here. I expect Atlanta to keep this close for a while, but the Lakers will have 1 monster Quarter that essentially allows them to cover the spread here.
The Pick :
LA Lakers 104-94 Atlanta Hawks
BEST BETTING TIP :
I'll take the LA Lakers - 7 Points @ 1.91 (2 UNITS)Follow me on Twitter- the direct link is below
