Bet on Basketball

The Los Angeles Lakers are hosting the Chicago Bulls tonight, after Kobe Bryant’s return to full condition with 31 points against Toronto Raptors, against which he had scored 81 points in the previous season. Lakers coach Phil Jackson tries hard to stabilize the defensive strength of the team, but Lamar Odom’s fluctuating performance may sometimes leave the team with one “hard man” missing. On the other side, the Bulls would like to show the crowd that they can match it with teams away from home. Ben Wallace, though he was not able to fulfill expectations from him as a defensive player, could get into the court tonight if Andrew Bynum, the sophomore pivot of the Lakers, does not fire up. The Lakers are one step ahead to win the game. Lakers ML is the 4 unit pick for this game.

The San Antonio Spurs are leaving home for a challenge with the Sacramento Kings, who lost to the Golden State Warriors two days ago. The home team scored well on that night, but were woeful in defense, having only Ron Artest fighting for rebounds. Kevin Martin tries to handle scoring of his team with the help of Mike Bibby, but this may not be enough to win a game against a high scoring team. The Spurs are one of those teams. They can also execute good defense, so Sacramento’s offensive activity will also drop. The Spurs lost to the Charlotte Bobcats at home in overtime, but conceded only 95 points. Greg Popovic’s team is likely to test their skills one more time in Sacramento’s Arco Arena. Likely to be a close game with a high score likely.  Therefore, the pick is over 186.5 for 4 units.