Los Angeles Lakers at Houston Rockets, Game 6 (Lakers lead 3-2)
Any chance at all that the Lakers don’t finish off Houston tonight in the wake of L.A.’s 40-ponit victory in Game 5?
Well, oddsmakers at WagerWeb.com sure expect this series to end in six games, as Los Angeles is a 9-point road favorite.
Most people think that Houston won that shocking Game 4 at home in the wake of Yao Ming’s season-ending injury on pure emotion. That emotion usually only lasts one game, and it certainly showed Tuesday night in that utter L.A. domination.
“Normally, when we play a bad game, we respond pretty well,” guard Aaron Brooks said. “If we keep up with tradition, we’ll be all right.”
This team is Orlando West now that Yao is out, meaning the Rockets live and die with the 3-pointer. In the Game 4 shocker, they shot 10-of-29 on 3-pointers. In Game 5 it was 5-of-29.
“We have to win different ways,” Houston’s Shane Battier said. “We have to take more 3s. We have to make more 3s. We have to sharpen up our game. Our margin for error is very slim.”
Lakers coach Phil Jackson is again warning his team of overconfidence, which bit them in Game 4. After all, the Rockets are 10-1 in their past 11 home games, winning their final six regular-season home games and going 3-0 at home against Portland in the first round of the playoffs.
Meanwhile, the Lakers are 2-5 on the road in their past seven playoff games, dating to last season’s NBA Finals. Of course, they also are 3-1 in Houston this year.
“We know what winning on the road in the playoffs is always a tall order,” Jackson said.
The good news for L.A. is that center Andrew Bynum played his best game in weeks in Game 5. He had 14 points on 5-for-6 shooting, made all four of his free throws and grabbed six rebounds in almost 20 minutes. Frankly, he should be dominating Houston now, since the Rockets start 6-foot-6 Chuck Hayes at center with Yao out.
The only negative for the Lakers is that Lamar Odom is clearly bothered by that sore back, as he played only 19 minutes in Game 5.
With Denver already in the conference finals, the Lakers don’t want to drag this series out any further. They will finish it tonight.
NBA Betting at WagerWeb.com.
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...
