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Al DeMarco
Al DeMarco Thursday's Play 5 Dime - Los Angeles Lakers
Note: I'm instructing you to buy up the 1/2 point - see below
Resiliency defined: The Lakers have lost six games straight-up in the playoffs. They are 6-0 SU and ATS in the following game winning by 14 at Utah, by margins of 13, 30 and 19 at home versus Houston, by 6 at Denver and 9 at home against the Nuggets.
Orlando, playing in a must-win situation on Tuesday, shot a blistering 63% from the field and still barely held on for a 108-104 win.
The Magic barely won Game Three despite Kobe Bryant, who had 17 points in the final 5:41 of the first quarter and 21 at halftime, fading down the stretch, missing 10 of his final 13 shots.
The Magic barely won Game Three despite outrebounding LA for the first time in the series, holding Pau Gasol to just three boards.
Was Orlando's Game Three triumph surprising? Not really considering the law of averages was bound to go in the Magic's favor after they shot a miserable 29.9% in Game One and a slightly better - but still pathetic - 41.8% in Game Two.
That same law of averages dictates they will not shoot 75% from the field in the first half tonight, as they did in Game Three, or finish at 63% overall for the contest. Nor will LA miss 10 critical free throws, as the Lakers converted just 62% from the charity stripe on Tuesday. Same goes with Kobe shooting 2-for-6 in the fourth quarter, missing all three of his shots from beyond the arc.
Depending on when and where you placed your bet for Game Three, the final result was either a push or an LA victory. Even counting it as a push, the Lakers are on a 22-8-3 roll as a road dog; 16-7-1 when getting five points or less as they are for the second straight time in this series. Plus, the underdog is on a 7-1-1 ATS run in this series.
If I was getting a greater potential return, I'd consider playing LA on the moneyline tonight, but at +115, it's not a wise financial strategy. Instead, I'll grab the 2 to 2 1/2 points. In fact, I encourage you to BUY UP the extra 1/2 point in either situation, making the Lakers either +2 1/2 or +3; thus we're protected should this one go down to the wire like Game Three. By purchasing the extra hook, should Orlando win by a bucket, we get the win at +2 1/2 or +3. A three-point Magic victory leaves us with a push at +3 if your original line was +2 1/2.
FYI - Should this line go down to 1 1/2 for some reason, you would naturally buy up to 2 applying the same logic noted above
Post #15 vs post #94 one says deMarco on Lakers +2 1/2 and other says Orlando - 1 1/2 What gives?
Al DeMarco
Al DeMarco Thursday's Play 5 Dime - Los Angeles Lakers
Note: I'm instructing you to buy up the 1/2 point - see below
Resiliency defined: The Lakers have lost six games straight-up in the playoffs. They are 6-0 SU and ATS in the following game winning by 14 at Utah, by margins of 13, 30 and 19 at home versus Houston, by 6 at Denver and 9 at home against the Nuggets.
Orlando, playing in a must-win situation on Tuesday, shot a blistering 63% from the field and still barely held on for a 108-104 win.
The Magic barely won Game Three despite Kobe Bryant, who had 17 points in the final 5:41 of the first quarter and 21 at halftime, fading down the stretch, missing 10 of his final 13 shots.
The Magic barely won Game Three despite outrebounding LA for the first time in the series, holding Pau Gasol to just three boards.
Was Orlando's Game Three triumph surprising? Not really considering the law of averages was bound to go in the Magic's favor after they shot a miserable 29.9% in Game One and a slightly better - but still pathetic - 41.8% in Game Two.
That same law of averages dictates they will not shoot 75% from the field in the first half tonight, as they did in Game Three, or finish at 63% overall for the contest. Nor will LA miss 10 critical free throws, as the Lakers converted just 62% from the charity stripe on Tuesday. Same goes with Kobe shooting 2-for-6 in the fourth quarter, missing all three of his shots from beyond the arc.
Depending on when and where you placed your bet for Game Three, the final result was either a push or an LA victory. Even counting it as a push, the Lakers are on a 22-8-3 roll as a road dog; 16-7-1 when getting five points or less as they are for the second straight time in this series. Plus, the underdog is on a 7-1-1 ATS run in this series.
If I was getting a greater potential return, I'd consider playing LA on the moneyline tonight, but at +115, it's not a wise financial strategy. Instead, I'll grab the 2 to 2 1/2 points. In fact, I encourage you to BUY UP the extra 1/2 point in either situation, making the Lakers either +2 1/2 or +3; thus we're protected should this one go down to the wire like Game Three. By purchasing the extra hook, should Orlando win by a bucket, we get the win at +2 1/2 or +3. A three-point Magic victory leaves us with a push at +3 if your original line was +2 1/2.
FYI - Should this line go down to 1 1/2 for some reason, you would naturally buy up to 2 applying the same logic noted above
Post #15 vs post #94 one says deMarco on Lakers +2 1/2 and other says Orlando - 1 1/2 What gives?
