NBA: LA Lakers at New Jersey (7:30 PM ET, NBA TV)
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2008-02-05
After a tumultuous offseason, the Los Angeles Lakers surprisingly emerged as one of the top teams in the competitive Western Conference in the season's first three months. On Tuesday, they’ll visit New Jersey with a fresh new all-star in the lineup.
The Lakers have landed Pao Gasol in a blockbuster trade, and he is expected to make his Lakers debut Tuesday when the club visits the Nets in the fourth game of its season-high nine-game road trip. This is just one of five games on the betting board, with each one of your bets at Sportsbook.com counting towards the “Beat the House” promotion. Stay current with the latest key game information for the entire board by following the Live Odds and Betting Trends pages.
Los Angeles (30-16, 27-18 ATS) acquired Gasol from Memphis on Friday in a deal that sent underachieving center Kwame Brown, rookie guard Javaris Crittenton and draft picks to the Grizzlies. He could have started Los Angeles' 103-91 win at Washington on Sunday, but Lakers coach Phil Jackson opted to give Gasol some additional rest.
The 7-foot Spaniard missed three of his last four games with Memphis due to a sore back, and still hadn't practiced with his new team. "We want him to practice first. He traveled back and forth across the country, up all night, short hours of sleep. This isn't a fair situation for him," Jackson said before Sunday's game. "We'll practice (Monday) and see how he feels. Play with the guys before we have him going into an NBA game with the 'Showtime' thing." Gasol, the 2002 Rookie of the Year and an All-Star in 2006, is averaging 18.9 points and 8.8 rebounds while shooting 50.1 percent from the field and a career-best 81.9 percent from the free-throw line.
With Gasol and Kobe Bryant paired in Los Angeles, it seems like both stars will get what they want. "The pressure of winning and being one of the favorites, I think, is what you want to be involved in," Gasol said Sunday. "That's the kind of pressure I've been missing being in the NBA. I love that." The Lakers could use Gasol's inside presence with center Andrew Bynum expected to be sidelined at least another six weeks with a knee injury. Without Bynum, the Lakers have gone 5-5 (5-4-1 ATS).
The Lakers are in the middle of a lengthy road trip playing game four of nine which ends Feb. 13 at Minnesota, right before the All-Star break. Kobe has carried his team to 2-1 record thus far with three straight covers. L.A. is 23-11 ATS in road games after a win by 10 points or more.
Los Angeles will try to earn a split in the season series with New Jersey (20-27, 17-28-2 ATS), which won the first meeting 102-100 in Los Angeles on Nov. 25 behind 27 points from Richard Jefferson. The Nets suffered a season-high nine-game losing streak from Jan. 11-27, but have fared better in their last three games, since Jason Kidd has again put the word out he wants none of this mess and wants to play for contender. After winning back-to-back contests, though, New Jersey lost 104-92 at Atlanta on Saturday despite shooting 51.4 percent for its third-best shooting performance. The Nets gave up 58 points in the paint -- eight shy of their season high, allowing the Hawks to shot 51.8 percent. "It was our lack of effort that caused us to lose tonight," said Nets guard Vince Carter, who had 14 points and a season-high 10 assists. "When you allow a team to score 50-plus points in the paint, it's going to be difficult to win."
Maybe coach Lawrence Frank should have his team attend a chautauqua, to break the displeasing play they continue to have at home. New Jersey is 10-14 and disastrous 6-16-2 ATS on the home hardwood, being outscored by 4.8 PPG, the worst in the NBA.
The Lakers opened as 4.5-point favorites at Sportsbook.com and were quickly bet up to 6.5-points, with the total holding steady at 203.5 PPG. Los Angeles is 9-3 and 7-3-2 ATS when they visit New Jersey and 16-6 ATS after one or more consecutive Unders this season.
Phil Jackson club is fourth in the NBA in road spread winning percentage with 13-8-1 ATS mark, having posted 13-9 record in straight up action. The Nets would seem to offer little resistance with 4-13 ATS record when playing against a team with a winning record this season, losing by ginormous 13.2 PPG.
NBA TV and the YES Network will telecast this contest starting at 7:30 Eastern.
StatFox Power Line – Lakers by 12