Sunday Clash Between Los Angeles Lakers And Oklahoma City Thunder
On Sunday April 10, the Los Angeles Lakers will battle against the Oklahoma City Thunder as both finish out their seasons in preparation for the NBA Playoffs. Kendrick Perkins has already been talking trash in regards to Lakers big man, Pau Gasol and their coach Phil Jackson, who is the new addition for the Thunder.
In basketball betting Odds the Lakers are the favorite to win the NBA Championship this season at 9-2 whereas basketball picks have the Thunder at 15-1.
Perkins did not show Gasol much respect as he called him “soft” as well as he also called Jackson “arrogant.” When the two take the floor on Sunday it will be an interesting matchup. With the improved play of Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom off the bench, the Lakers have been a dominant team on the boards.
Even though Kobe Bryant has suffered his usual assortment of minor injuries, he has staved off major injuries this season. Bryant has continued to be the team leader and scoring leader of the Lakers in spite of his battle with the injury bug. Bryant is always known for turning it up a notch in the NBA Playoffs as he is averaging a little more than 25 points per game.
In the NBA Kevin Durant is still one of the best players who is flying under the radar in Oklahoma City. In the first round of the NBA Playoffs last year the Thunder gave the Lakers all they could handle as well as with the Lakers this year their acquisition of Perkins could lead them to a later NBA Playoffs battle.
This Sunday’s game will lay the groundwork for the 2011 NBA Playoffs as the Thunder are stronger this year and more seasoned.
Friday Clash Between Miami Heat And San Antonio Spurs
This weekend in a game between two of the top teams in the NBA, the San Antonio Spurs will take on the Miami Heat. Even though many people wish the team to beat in the league during the playoffs will be the Miami Heat, the Spurs have the best record in the NBA.
As of late, the Spurs have not been quite as dominant. Three of the losses have come within the last 10 games of their 10 losses on the season. By winning 9 of their last 10 games, the Heat have really been on fire lately.
In order to carry their team the Spurs rely on a lot older players. Many of their role players are on the decline of their careers and also Duncan is aging. If these players start to get tired after the all-star break and if the Spurs start to fall apart will be interesting to see.
Even though the Heat will need to start off the 2nd half of the season with a solid win, they have a great chance at winning the Eastern Conference. The Heat can’t afford to go on one of those streaks with the Celtics within their reach as when they lose they tend to go on streaks of losses.
In this game the Heat will need to limit the role that Tony Parker plays. The Spurs are very difficult to beat, when Parker plays at a high level. The Spurs will need a big game from Manu Ginobli to have a chance in this one; if Tony Parker fails to produce in this game.
For this matchup, basketball betting Odds will be released Thursday night.
San Antonio Spurs Meets Denver Nuggets AT San Antonio
In order to take on the Spurs, the Denver Nuggets will head to San Antonio this weekend. As the Nuggets will have to play both the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs this week, they are in a tough part of their schedule. On the season, the Spurs currently sport the best record in the NBA at 32-6. At 21-16, the Nuggets have had a solid season as well.
As both of these teams are known for being high scoring teams, this game should feature a lot of points. By scoring more than 106 points per game, the Nuggets have the second best offense in the NBA. At 105 points per game, the Spurs have the 4th best offense in the NBA.
In spite of the fact that many of their players are aging, the Spurs have found a way to improve their team. It has stifled many of the top teams in the league; they have a great interior defense that may be trouble for the Nuggets.
Nuggets’ bench scoring will be the key for them. Even though their team truly becomes elite when their bench players come in and put a lot of points on the board, they have some great scorers in their starting five.
As the Nuggets have one of the worst defenses in the NBA, The Spurs should be able to score at will against the Nuggets. Even though the Nuggets do have the tools to take this one from the Spurs, the Spurs will definitely be favored in this game.
Sunday Clash Between Los Angeles Lakers And New York Knicks
For the first time throughout the 2010-2011 seasons, the New York Knicks will travel to the Staples Center to take on the Los Angeles Lakers, on Sunday.
For this matchup NBA Odds have not yet been posted.
The Lakers clearly have the edge over the Knicks in all categories, by looking at their past history and recent performances. Though there is no need to count out the Knicks just yet.
At this point in the season the truth is that last year’s NBA championships are underachieving. Behind Utah, Dallas, and San Antonio, the Lakers start off 2011 ranked fourth in the Western Conference. the Lakers suffered a surprising 104-85 loss to Memphis, who has less than a 50 percent winning record this season by looking at the past week. To win the game on Sunday evening, these are some of the points that may give the Knicks plenty of hope. The championship squad that includes Kobe Bryant, Derek Fisher, Lamar Odom, and Ron Artest are dangerous on any given day and can recover quickly from the worst losses, for sure.
With two consecutive wins the Knicks got off to a positive start in 2011. The Knicks beat the Spurs, who have the best record in the league indeed. While Stoudemire and Felton each scored 28 points, in the 128-115 win over San Antonio, New York’s Wilson Chandler had 31 points. The Knicks are more than ready to face the Lakers without any intimidation, after such a hot performance. Anything can happen considering the fact that they haven’t faced each other this season as recent momentum can be a deciding factor on Sunday’s game.
Chicago Bulls Will Clash With New York Knicks At Madison Square Garden
On Saturday the Chicago Bulls will battle against the New York Knicks in New York. In a sold out Madison Square Garden this Christmas day game will be full of excitement. The game will be broadcasted by ESPN and millions of viewers across the nation will enjoy the game which will be scheduled to start at 12:00 p.m.
For this matchup NBA Odds have not yet been posted.
During the 2010-2011 NBA regular seasons this will be the second meeting between the two teams. The Knicks defeated the Bulls 120-112 at the United Center in downtown Chicago on November 4th. Danilo Galinari, who scored 24 points, was the star of the game. In order to lead the Knicks to a victory, the young Italian international shot 4/4 behind the three point line indeed. 24 points was compiled by Chicago’s star player Derrick Rose. The Knicks led by a comfortable margin, not giving the Bulls any chance to tie or win in the last few minutes of that game.
A lot has changed as the game in early November. With an 8 game winning streak first of all, the Knicks had a hot December. By winning 7 games in a row, the Bulls also had a similar performance in December. In recent times, both teams also had disheartening losses. The Bulls lost to the Clippers by one point as in mid December, the Knicks lost to Boston (the best team in the NBA) by two points. Both teams are almost dead even coming into Saturday’s game as far as the momentum.
The Bulls are slightly better than the Knicks when it comes to the season record as of late December. In the Eastern Conference both squads are currently part of the top six teams. Even as the third ranked Bulls won 16 and lost only 9, as of December 20th, the sixth ranked Knicks had a 16-12 record.
Comparison of the top players on both teams is another important aspect of the clash on Christmas Day. The New York Knicks have some of the best players in the NBA at present.
Stoudemire is the second best scorer in the league by averaging just above 26 points per game and he has lived up to the high expectations that the “Big Apple” has thrown at him. 9.2 Assists per game make Raymond Felton one of the top 5 players in the NBA in that category. Raymond and Amar’e connect well on the court what the numbers clearly indicate.
From the nimble point guard Derrick Rose and the funky big man in the middle, Joakim Noah, Chicago Bulls also has solid star power. By averaging more than 24 points a game, Rose is also one of the top scorers in the league indeed.
The odds are slightly in Knicks’ favor on the whole, who would love to please a jolly New York crowd on this special holiday.
Friday Clash Between Los Angeles Lakers And Chicago Bulls
On Friday, in a battle of NBA rivals the Los Angeles Lakers will travel to Chicago to lock horn with the Chicago Bulls.
For this matchup NBA Odds have not yet been posted.
This road trip will be vital for the Lakers as they have gone through a bit of a drought after their fast start. Leading by a hot shooting Shannon Brown, the Lakers defeated the Bulls in Los Angeles just before Thanksgiving 98-91 and in the victory Brown nailed five three pointers.
This season after a four game losing streak, the Los Angeles Lakers have dropped six games. In spite of losing a step over the last few years Kobe Bryant is still the heart and soul of this team. For each game, Bryant is averaging over 26 points. “Kobe runs the offense on the floor and Phil Jackson runs the triangle defense,” Ron Artest told Dan Patrick on his show Monday.
As the teams point guard Derrick Rose is leading the Chicago Bulls. Rose is the general on the floor for Chicago as he is averaging just less than 25 points per game. With their defense the Bulls are winning and in opposition to the Lakers they lead their Central Division standings going into this game. Even though they are out rebounding all but two NBA teams, they are 15th in scoring.
Carlos Boozer who has been hobbled for a while now is a key injury to watch for this week for the Chicago Bulls. The oft injured Bynum may again miss the most of the regular season, so the Los Angeles Lakers are still without their big man. The Lakers need the big man to clog up the middle as their losing streak last week shows.
Phoenix Suns take on Sacramento Kings on Friday
The Sacramento Kings and the Phoenix Suns, Pacific division rivals, both struggling out of the gate, square off Friday in Phoenix. This got be an exciting match up for basketball betting lines fans.
For both teams in early October, the teams last met in the NBA preseason opener, when Tyreke Evans scored 26 points to lead the Kings to a 109-95 victory over the Suns.
Phoenix is 3-4 SU and Sacramento is 3-3-0 SU this season.
At online sportsbooks closer to game time, NBA Betting Odds for this divisional matchup will be available.
The game marked the NBA debut of DeMarcus Cousins, who netted 16 points and hauled down 16 rebounds for Sacramento and the fifth overall pick in the draft after playing just one season at Kentucky.
For the Kings, they outscored Phoenix 29-15 in the fourth quarter. Both Marcus Landry and Omri Casspi had 11 points; Jason Thompson had 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Robin Lopez had 15 points and Jason Richardson scored 17 for Phoenix, which led by as many as 12 points in the first half. Hakim Warrick added 11 points and Jared Dudley scored 13.
The Suns were second and went to the NBA Western Finals, while the Kings are probably not as upset with their start as the Suns, as Sacramento finished with a 25-57 record last season, last in the division.
Miami Heat at Toronto Raptors – Basketball Betting Preview
The Toronto Raptors and Miami Heat battle for playoff positioning as they face each other tonight.
The NBA betting odds favor Toronto (-150) by 3 points over Miami (+130) and the over/under is 205.
A Raptors let down is a big possibility as they are coming off of an emotional 106-105 victory over the Lakers. The game was a dog-fight to the end with the Raps needing hits on two free-throws by Hedo Turkoglu with 1.2 seconds left to go.
Miami, on the other hand, should be playing very ornery after just missing on an upset of their own in a 92-91 loss to the East-leading Cavaliers.
Both the Raptors and the Heat have been playing well of late. The Raptors have won nine of their last ten home games while the Heat have won five of their last eight and two of those losses came on the second game of back-to-backs.
Both teams already have a home victory in head-to-head games this season and their stars have had big games in both games.
Toronto plays really well at home and really poorly on the road so it is no surprise that each team has a victory on their home court and it is nor surprise that they are favored to win this one at home.
This is an important game for both teams as they jockey not just for playoff positioning, but to stay ahead of the pack of teams trying to chase them out of a spot. Expect a lot of intensity as they go head-to-head.
Heat-Raptors betting preview by NBA Basketball Previews. Visit NBA Basketball Previews for betting blogs on NBA and NCAA basketball.
