Los Angeles Lakers at Sacramento Kings
Wednesday, 11/3/10, 10:30 PM EST; TV: ESPN
Opening Point Spread: Los Angeles -6
Current Betting Line: Los Angeles -5
Opening Total: 210
Current Total: 211
Current Moneyline: Los Angeles -230 / Sacramento +190
Los Angeles absolutely steamrolled the visiting Memphis Grizzlies last night by a 124-105 margin at the Staples Center by shooting a season-best 51.2 percent. The Lakers shot 14-of-23 from three-point range and have started the season making 45.6 percent of their shots from beyond the arc. “If they shoot the ball the way they shot it tonight,” Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins stated. “Nobody is going to beat them.” Some experts are attributed the improvement in long-range shooting to the acquisition of Steve Blake, who is a career 39 percent three-point shooter and made 44 percent last season in his 29 games with the Clippers. Forward Lamar Odom has also gotten into the action, starting the season 6-of-7 from long distance. The team is 3-1 ATS this season and the NBA lines page has them listed as a road favorite tonight.
The Lakers swept last season’s series with Sacramento 4-0, after taking the 2008-09 season series with Sacramento 3-1 for the third straight season. Los Angeles is 7-3 in its last 10 games at Arco Arena, including a 7-1 mark in the last eight trips to the state capitol. The team is leading the NBA with 114.3 points per game and last night was the squad’s highest-scoring game of the year. The bench has also gotten into the action and accounted for 50 points in Tuesday’s victory. “Our starters can’t do everything,” said Shannon Brown. “The bench players are going to have to continue to come out and bring energy and do what is needed for us to win.
Sacramento is 3-1 to start the season for the first time since the 2003-04 season and is coming into this contest off an exciting 111-108 victory over Toronto. “That was a really exciting game,” coach Paul Westphal said. “I’m so happy for our guys. I don’t want to have to come back every game like this, but it’s nice to know we can.” The Kings started the season with three straight road games and now are in the midst of playing eight of their next nine games at home. Sacramento was the only NBA team to open the season with three road contests. The team is 2-2 ATS this season and 6-14 as a home underdog of 3.5 to 6 points the last three years.
The Kings late-game heroics has even caught the eye of Lakers head coach Phil Jackson before tonight’s meeting. “They have just come off a really big win coming back from a deficit in the fourth quarter, beating Toronto, so they have a lot of enthusiasm up there,” he stated. Sacramento head coach Paul Westphal has also been pleased with rookie forward DeMarcus Cousins asking for the ball late in games. He’s been a big reason that the club has won two on the road after winning just seven away from Sac Town in 2009-10.
Bettors will have an interest in playing the Lakers due to the road team being 13-3 ATS in this series, while the Kings are 10-4 ATS after three or more consecutive overs.
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