Article courtesy OddsShark (@OddsShark)
The Los Angeles Lakers are 4-0 straight up and 3-1 against the spread over their last four games. The Lakers will try to stay hot on Friday night when they take on the Houston Rockets in the first game of their second round best-of-seven series.
Los Angeles is a 6.5-point favorite on the NBA odds in Orlando at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. The Rockets are 2-3 SU and 1-4 ATS over their last five games coming into this matchup.
Rockets vs Lakers | OddsShark Matchup Report
After falling to 3-6 SU and 1-8 ATS in the NBA bubble with a 100-93 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 1 of the first round of the NBA playoffs, the Lakers found their groove with four straight comfortable wins over Portland.
Los Angeles is averaging 123.3 points per game over its current four-game winning streak and Anthony Davis is averaging 29.8 points and 9.4 rebounds per game so far this postseason. Davis’ play down low will be one of the keys to this series against the Rockets as Houston doesn’t have the size to match up with him.
The Lakers went 1-2 SU and ATS in three meetings with the Rockets during the regular season per the OddsShark NBA Database.
The Rockets started off their series against the Thunder with two straight blowout wins before Oklahoma City started to play better and eventually force the series to seven games. Houston came out on top in an ugly 104-102 win on Wednesday to book their ticket into the second round.
Many experts believe that Los Angeles’ size advantage will give the Lakers an edge in this playoff series, but the Rockets are hoping that their speed and outside shooting will be enough to offset the damage that players like LeBron James and Anthony Davis will do inside the paint.
Friday night’s total is set at 224 points at online betting sites. The UNDER is 10-4 in Houston’s last 14 games.
Most NBA fans have been projecting that the Lakers and the L.A. Clippers will meet in the Western Conference Finals all season long. But the Lakers can’t afford to look ahead of this series. While Houston didn’t look all that impressive against Oklahoma City, James Harden and Russell Westbrook could make this a tough out for the Lakers if they are hitting their shots.
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