10% UNLIMITED Bonus from Bodog!
Get a 10% deposit bonus when you open a new sportsbook account with Bodog!

BetUS $500 Match Bonus
Sign up for a new account with BetUS and deposit $500 or more to get a $500 match bonus.

LA Lakers at Boston Celtics Odds, Picks, & Predictions

Written February 5, 2009 by Jay Horne

lakers-celtics-picks-020509 The Boston Celtics who own the best record in the NBA at 41-9 will host the Los Angeles Lakers in a re-match of last year’s NBA Finals on Thursday night in a battle among the top two teams in the league. The Lakers got the best of the Celtics in the first meeting this season on Christmas Day when they got a big 92-83 victory inside the Staples Center. However, Boston will be looking to get some revenge this time around as they will host the event and they have knocked off a very impressive 12 straight wins. The meeting likely will foretell what many believe will be a repeat Finals appearance between the two. Los Angeles is clearly the favorite in the Western Conference while Boston is the favorite in the much tougher Eastern Conference. The Celtics are 5.5 point favorites in Boston over the Lakers.

The Boston Celtics got off to an incredible 27-2 start before going through a tough stretch of games while questions arose that wondered if Boston had lost the magic they have carried over the past two seasons. Well the Celtics answered those questions over recent weeks winning 12 straight while returning back to the top of the overall standings in the league. Boston is fresh off one of the more exciting finishes for the Celtics this season on Tuesday night when Ray Allen knocked down a 3 pointer with less than a second remaining to lift the Celtics over the Philadelphia 76ers 100-99.

Boston sports the NBA’s second best scoring defense holding teams to a mere 91 points per game. However, that defense will have a big test as they will go heads up with the leading scoring offense in the league that is the Los Angeles Lakers. Paul Pierce has been fierce for the Celtics in the last few games posting tallies of 36 and 29 in the first few days of February. Kevin Garnett missed Tuesday’s game with the flu, but many expect that he will play come Thursday. Watch for the Celtics to be eyeing some early season revenge when they get the Lakers at home on Thursday night.

Kobe Bryant posted the best performance ever at the historical Madison Square Garden on Monday night when the last year’s MVP winner dropped an amazing 61 points in the Lakers 126-117 win over the New York Knicks. Bryant aided the cause in the first meeting against the Celtics scoring 27 points to get the Lakers the win back in December and he will definitely be the man everyone will be watching this Thursday against the talented Celtics. However, Monday night brought some unfortunate circumstances amidst Kobe’s 61 point performance. Center Andrew Bynum tore an MCL and will miss 8-12 weeks. The Lakers will have to find away to pick up the slack in order to end Boston’s 12 game winning streak.

The Lakers will attempt to accomplish that feat by their elite scoring potential that averages a league best 108 points on the year. Kobe Bryant is averaging 27 points per night while Pau Gasol has been giving a helpful hand with 18 points per contest as well and the two combined for 92 points on Monday night the highest combination by any two players this season. The two Lakers’ standouts combined for over half of the teams 93 points in their win over the Celtics in December and will look for another similar performance. Los Angeles attempts to go after the sweep on Thursday night and claim pride for NBA’s best.

Pick – Celtics prove why they are the defending champions and improve to 13 straight.

Take the Boston Celtics -5.5

This NBA betting season you owe it to yourself to put yourself in the best position to beat the NBA odds. Our expert NBA picks are a great place to start.