NBA Spreads: New Orleans Hornets at Los Angeles Lakers
Written by Steve Janus - Google +
The Los Angeles Lakers will go for their third straight win tonight when they host the New Orleans Hornets. The Lakers ended a three game losing streak with a 103-88 win at New Orleans on Dec. 29, and with that win the have won four of their last five, including a tough 99-95 win at Phoenix on Wednesday. The Hornets lost 110-103 at home against the Warriors, snapping a three game winning streak since their loss to the Lakers. Taking a look at the NBA spreads for tonight’s games, oddsmakers have the Lakers favored by 8-points over the Hornets at home.
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The Hornets really fell apart in the fourth quarter against the Warriors on Wednesday, as they went into the final period up 10 points before being outscored 38-21 over the final 12 minutes.
Chris Paul led the way with 24 points and 13 assists. David West and Marco Belinelli each had 16 points, and Trevor Ariza added 15 points and 10 rebounds. While Paul had a nice game against the Lakers, scoring 20 points with seven assists, West and Ariza combined for just 12 points. Those two have to play better for the Hornets to have a shot at winning tonight.
New Orleans hasn’t had much luck at the Staples Center or against the Lakers for that matter. The Hornets have lost three straight at Los Angeles and seven of the last nine games overall.
The Lakers have done a much better job moving the ball around lately, and it has started with Kobe Bryant taking fewer shots and getting the rest of the team involved. Bryant scored 24 points on 9 of 17 shooting against the Suns, and the Lakers are 19-2 when Bryant takes fewer than 20 shots.
Andrew Bynum added 14 points, but Pau Gasol had just six points on 3 of 10 shooting, and is averaging just 13.6 points over his last five games. Gasol had just 11 points against the Hornets, but did have 12 rebounds and five assists.
The Lakers bench got a couple of nice performances against the Suns, as Shannon Brown had 13 points and Lamar Odom added 12, but overall the Lakers reserves were outscored 47-40 by Phoenix.
Given the success that the Lakers have had against the Hornets, I think you have to lay the 8-points on Los Angeles in this one. The Hornets are just 8-18 ATSÂ in road games revenging a loss vs opponent over the last 2 seasons.
For more help with who to take this season, check out what our expert handicappers have to offer in their daily NBA picks.
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