Lakers -5.5
2.5 units. (bets are rated 1 to 5 units. 5 is a max bet)
The trend for the Blazers continued against Memphis the other day – Lillard is playing ridiculous and they’re still only barely beating average teams. They barely beat the Nets, Grizzlies, the Sixers without Simmons, and lost to the Clippers with their backups playing in the 4th quarter. This is a bad Blazers defense – second worst 3 point defense in the league. Who’s guarding Lebron on this roster? Lebron should get to the basket at will in this game and the Lakers role players should find their rhythm offensively with the Blazers defense scrambling all over the place. Anthony Davis should have a big game in his first playoff game as a Laker. The Lakers know a lot of people have Portland pegged as a team that could upset them and I see this as a statement game for LA – 9pm game on the east coast, national TV, and they just watched every favorite take care of business yesterday. I expect Lebron’s motor for this game to be on another level, a great defensive game, and for the Lakers to get out in transition. Lakers by 9+.
