The Los Angeles Lakers bubble trouble continued in the opening game of their series against the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night. LeBron James and his mates have had all kinds of issues scoring the basketball offensively since the restart, and Game 1 was no different. The team simply wasn’t able to flip the switch as Portland controlled the game throughout. Even after coughing up the lead midway through the fourth quarter, Damian Lillard put the team on his back and led them to the outright win and cover against the NBA odds. Due to falling into a hole mostly due to the offense’s issues, oddsmakers at online sportsbooks opened the Game 2 betting lines up a point shorter on the spread and 6.5 points lower on the total regardless of the three regular season meetings playing out to high scorers that saw an average of 247.7 points hit the board.
This game will take place at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, FL. Tip-off is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET on Thursday, August 20, 2020, and the game will be broadcast live on TNT. You can bet on NBA odds at BookMaker.eu the remainder of the playoffs.
NBA Playoff Odds at BookMaker.eu
Portland Trail Blazers +5.5
Los Angeles Lakers -5.5
Over/Under 226.5
Head-To-Head Results
The Lakers went into Game 1 owning 2-1 SU and ATS records from the three regular season meetings with the Blazers; the over cashed in each game. LA scored an average of 132 points in the two triumphs, and still managed to rack up 119 points in the defeat. James and Anthony Davis went HAM in both wins combining for an average of 55.5 points and 16 rebounds. Portland went on to win the final skirmish by a 127-119 final count in a game the Lakers closed as decided 13-point favorites per the closing NBA odds. Lillard stole the show in the final meeting going off for 48 points by way of draining 57 percent of his shots which included a 7-of-12 showing from beyond the arc.
Game 1 Recap
The Blazers turned the ball over 16 times, lost the rebounding battle 55-50, missed eight free throws and racked up 28 fouls to the Lakers 23. Even so, Portland found itself on the right side of the scoreboard after logging the 100-93 outright win and cover as 6.5-point underdogs. The 193 combined points came nowhere close to surpassing the 234-point closing total. As expected, Lillard led the way with 34 points by way of hitting all 10 of his free throws and connecting on 6-of-13 three-point attempts. C.J. McCollum (21), Jusuf Nurkic (16) and Carmelo Anthony (11) were the teams only other double-digit scorers with only eight players logging minutes. Los Angeles was simply wretched offensively in the series opener. It shot 35 percent overall with both Anthony (8/24) and James (9/20) struggling mightily from the field. They did however combine for 28 rebounds, but more was needed from the dynamic duo to come out on top.
Matchup to Watch
The shots were there. The Lakers had no issues creating offense all night evidenced by the fact that they pelted the Blazers defense with a whopping 97 overall shot attempts. Unfortunately, they simply just didn’t go down. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope failed to convert on any of his nine made shot attempts. Danny Green went 4-of-12, while Kyle Kuzma went 5-of-14. Combined, the duo knocked down only three of their 13 attempted 3-balls. The Lakers success or lack thereof ultimately depends on the role players stepping up and making shots. When they don’t, what happened Tuesday night is what occurs. Should you decide to take a wait and see approach in hopes of live betting Game 2, make it a point to see if anyone other than LBJ and “The Brow” is routinely scoring points. Though Portland took the battle, I still don’t believe they’re ready to win this war. If the Blazers go up early and LA is shooting at a high clip from the field, you’ll know what to do.
NBA Odds Pick
Portland looked like the more prepared team from the opening tip. Remember, the Blazers have been competing for their playoff lives ever since the restart occurred. That wasn’t the story for the Lakers who locked down the No. 1 seed in their third bubble game against the Utah Jazz. Adrenaline and momentum ultimately carried the Trail Blazers to the Game 1 triumph. Even so, LA still found a way to take the lead late in the fourth quarter regardless of the fact that it played like absolute dog feces to that point in the game. I’m expecting an optimum effort to be put forth on Thursday night with it resulting in the Lake Show evening things up. Should that adrenaline still be around and Portland gets out to an early double-digit lead, back up the Brinks Truck and hit LA on the readjusted live betting line with reckless abandon!
Prediction: Lakers 133, Trail Blazers 117
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook!
