The Los Angeles Lakers are the team that nobody wants to face in the first round of the NBA playoffs. Yet, it seems as though the Lakers’ once-doomed season is turning around in a hurry.
Los Angeles Lakers @ Atlanta Hawks – Wednesday, March 13
Sport betting line: no line
Why Los Angeles Will Win
Online football betting students who want to add a little intrigue to their week might be interested in making a play on this contest. If pigskin pundits want to dip their toes into the basketball waters, they will find that Los Angeles has a very good shot at winning this game. The Lakers simply aren’t the fumbling, bumbling team they used to be, and the biggest reason for this team’s transformation is that Dwight Howard is finally playing like a man in the low post. Howard went toe-to-toe this past Sunday with one of the elite defensive big men in the league, Chicago’s Joakim Noah (an All-Star in 2013), and had the better of the matchup. Howard is finally attaining the level of confidence and straightforward agression that head coach Mike D’Antoni, superstar Kobe Bryant, and the rest of the Lakers have needed from him this season. Moreover, since the Lakers play in Orlando against Howard’s old team, the Magic, on Tuesday night, March 12, the chances are very good that L.A. will be coming into Atlanta off a victory, one that will make Howard feel very, very good about himself. A happy Howard is the biggest reason why the Lakers can win this game… and then make noise in the upcoming playoffs. They’re slightly behind the Utah Jazz at this point in time, but they are likely to pass the Jazz before the regular season is over.
The other thing to realize about this game is that Atlanta played in Miami on Tuesday night against the Heat. That’s a high-energy, high-emotion game for the Hawks, one that required a lot of effort and intensity. Can Atlanta regroup for this contest a night later against another high-profile opponent? It’s going to be very hard for the Hawks to pull that off.
Why Atlanta Will Win
With an online horse betting guru or a college football betting expert, the calculus of a given event can acquire multiple dimensions, and so it is the case that for all the ways in which you can pick the Lakers in this game, you can come up with as many convincing reasons to pick the Hawks.
First of all, Los Angeles does play on Tuesday night. Yes, the opponent is Orlando, but the Lakers will still have to deal with life on the road in the Eastern time zone, which is never easy for a West Coast team. The Lakers also have to realize that the game against Orlando was and is a very emotional moment for Dwight Howard. Will the big man be able to center himself – in defeat or in victory; it doesn’t matter – and focus on this next game against the Hawks? Howard could be in for a letdown, and if that’s the case, the Lakers are in for a letdown as well.
The thing to appreciate from an Atlanta perspective is that the Hawks will get tested by the Miami Heat on Tuesday night. Playing against LeBron James and Dwyane Wade will prepare Atlanta’s guards and wings for Kobe Bryant and the Lakers’ small-ball attack (when Howard isn’t getting the ball in the low post). Being able to play a good opponent makes you better, and by that metric, Atlanta certainly has an advantage on Wednesday night.
Who Will Win?
The sense here is that Dwight Howard will not be focused, one night after playing his former team. Atlanta will learn a lot in film study from playing the Miami Heat on Tuesday. The Hawks will be ready for this challenge, and they’ll find a way to beat the Lakers at home.
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NBA Betting Pick: Atlanta
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