Game 2 of the NBA Finals is tonight and the pros at FiveStarPick.com have been working for two days analyzing stats and trends from Game 1.  This attention to detail is for one reason and one reason only…BRINGING HOME THE CASH!  Most Vegas books list the Lakers as 6-point home favorites with a total of 190.

In Game 1, our members got the UNDER 192.  Although it was a bit too close for our comfort, Kobe Bryant’s 3 with the clock expiring still kept us under the closing total of 192, albeit by 1 point.

Game 1’s outcome was determined in the paint, where the lakers took the Celtics to the woodshed. The Lakers out-rebounded the Celtics, 42-31, and they outscored the Celtics in the paint, 48-30, including 12 offensive rebounds.

All-Star forward Pau Gasol finished with 23 points, 14 rebounds and 3 blocks. His size and athleticism was evident against the Celtics’ Kevin Garnett, who had no answer for Gasol in Game 1.  Kobe Bryant put up 30 points, his 12th 30+ point game of this year’s playoffs. Ron Artest also did his job grinding out 15 points for the Lakers.

Ray Allen was plagued with foul trouble for most of Game 1. He played 27 minutes and finished with 12 points on 3-of-8 shooting. Allen was given the daunting task of guarding Kobe Bryant, so he didn’t have much time to rest on defense.  KG didn’t have his best performance in Game 1, but veteran Rasheed Wallace added 9 points and 4 boards in just 18 minutes. The rest of Boston’s bench only had seven points, which included just 3 points and 3 rebounds from Glen Davis. Point guard Rajon Rondo had a reasonable outing with 13 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists in Game 1, but Rondo will have to step up his speed and back court domination if he want a chance to leave LA tied 1 game a piece.

The win over Boston in Game 1 helped the Lakers improve to a 6-3 record against the spread at home in the playoffs. The loss for the Celtics was their sixth of the playoffs, four of them being on the road.  The Celtics have yet to lose a playoff game and cover the spread, which is something to think about for Game 2.  These two clubs will travel back to Boston for Game 3, which is scheduled for Tuesday night.

Tonight’s tip is at 8:05 p.m. EDT on ABC.

Who covers the spread tonight?  It is not your job to analyze these stats and trends, it’s ours.  This is our life and our living.  Let FiveStarPick.com take away the guesswork in the NBA Playoffs and provide you with winning NBA Playoff Picks that beat the spread and get results.  If you’re skeptical, monitor our daily plays on our homepage and see if our talent for picking winners exceeds your expectations.  Or join for two days…it’s only $19.99.  Join our family today and start winning tonight.

Rick Riley – FiveStarPick.com

The pros at FiveStarPick.com look to continue our NBA Playoff hot streak handicapping every game in the 2010 NBA Finals.  We’re confident that our members share our desire.  The NBA didn’t get LeBron-Kobe, but they did get the next best thing in Lakers-Celtics.  Las Vegas sportsbooks list the Lakers as -180 favorites (risk $180 to win $100) and the Celtics as +150 dogs (risk $100 to win $150).  For Game 1, most books list the Lakers as 5.5-point favorites with a total of 192.

Over the last 10 years, the team that hosted the first 2 games of the Finals has won the title 8 times. The only two clubs to break that trend were the 2004 Pistons and the 2006 Heat. The Lakers have been weak in their game openers in the Phil Jackson era.  In the Lakers last five Finals appearances dating back to 2000, Los Angeles is meager 3-8-1 Against The Spread.  In game openers, LA is just 2-4 Against The Spread. In Jackson’s ten titles with the Bulls and Lakers, his teams have never swept the Finals, but also have never played a Game 7.

Since the inception of 2-3-2 format in 1985, the home team has won the first two games 13 times.  The road team has won the first two only twice, with Phoenix back in 1993, and Houston in 1995.  Ten times the home team has split the first two games, but in seven of those instances the home team still won the series.

Back in 2008, the Celtics covered the spread in all six games of the Finals, including four games as an underdog. Boston is 12-5 Against The Spread this postseason, while the Lakers are just 9-7 Against The Spread, including a 5-4 Against The Spread mark as a favorite. Nine of the last 12 Finals series openers have finished ‘under’ the closing total.

Who covers the spread tonight?  It is not your job to analyze these stats and trends, it’s ours.  This is our life and our living.  Let FiveStarPick.com take away the guesswork in the NBA Playoffs and provide you with winning NBA Playoff Picks that beat the spread and get results.  If you’re skeptical, monitor our daily plays on our homepage and see if our talent for picking winners exceeds your expectations.  Or join for two days…it’s only $19.99.  Join our family today and start winning tonight.

Rick Riley – FiveStarPick.com

Another NBA Playoff game, another win against the spread for the pros at FiveStarPick.com.  After winning 11 of 12 plays against the spread for our members this week, including last night’s cash with the Suns +7.5, we are giving our members the spread winner of Game 6 in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals between the Orlando Magic and the Boston Celtics tonight at 8pm on ESPN.  Las Vegas sportsbooks list the Celtics as 3.5-point home favorites with a total of 189.  Our numbers reveal another sloppy line for the sportsbooks.

Orlando has forced the Eastern Conference Finals back to Boston after Wednesday’s Game 5 blowout (a FiveStarPick.com win), cutting the series deficit to 3-2.  The Celtics look to close the series out tonight at home, but if they lose tonight, the Celtics may have a melt down and could lose the series after taking a 3-0 series lead.

Game 5 was a dominant performance by the Magic with a 113-92 win over Boston. The key to victory in Game 5 was that the Magic hit 52% of their shots from the field and 13 shots from behind the arc. Jameer Nelson completely schooled Rajon Rondo in Game 4, but things evened up in Game 5. Nelson put up 24 of the Magic’s points, while Rondo put up 19 for the Celtics. Dwight Howard was dominant in the paint with 21-points and 10-rebounds.

The Celtics almost lost center Kendrick Perkins for game 6 after he comitted his 7th technical foul of the season.  NBA rules penalize players with a 1-game suspension upon their 7th technical foul, but the league reviewed the incident and took away one of his two technicals, giving Perkins a stay for tonight’s game. That’s a huge break for Boston because Glen Davis suffered a concussion and had to leave Game 5.  “Big Baby” is listed as Questionable for Game 6, but we think he plays tonight.

The Celtics started the postseason with an 11-3 Against The Spread run, but have dropped consecutive games against the spread in Games 4 and 5.  The Celtics are 7-3 ATS this season off an Against The Spread loss, while posting a 5-2 Against The Spread mark as a favorite this postseason.

Never before in the NBA has a team rallied from a 3-0 deficit to win a best-of-seven series. Only twice has a club come from 3-0 down to force a Game 7, but never in the conference finals.  The Magic are now 4-0 over the last two seasons when facing elimination against the Celtics. The Celtics are 3-6 since the beginning of last postseason on the verge of eliminating an opponent, and all three victories have come at home.

Who covers the spread tonight?  It is not your job to analyze these stats and trends, it’s ours.  This is our life and our living.  Let FiveStarPick.com take away the guesswork in the NBA Playoffs and provide you with winning NBA Playoff Picks that beat the spread and get results.  If you’re skeptical, monitor our daily plays on our homepage and see if our talent for picking winners exceeds your expectations.  Or join for two days…it’s only $19.99.  Join our family today and start winning tonight.

Rick Riley – FiveStarPick.com

Congratulations to all our members on yet another spread winner in the NBA Conference Finals as we gave our members the Suns +1 last night.  The NBA Playoffs have been very good to us and we look for the trend to continue tonight as we give our members the spread winner of Game 5 in the Eastern Conference Finals between the Orlando Magic and the Boston Celtics.  Las Vegas sportsbooks list the Magic as 3-point home favorites with a total of 186.

Many figured this series would end up in a sweep after Boston took a 3-0 series lead, but the Magic avoided the sweep by holding off the Celtics in overtime of Monday’s Game 4. Orlando will try and extend this series to a Game 6, but if the Magic win Game 5, it would be their first home win of the series.

The Magic saved some face with Monday’s performance. Dwight Howard finally showed up with a 32-point, 16-rebound performance, and Jameer Nelson hit back-to-back threes to put the game away in the final seconds of overtime. Nelson outplayed Rondo in Game 4, limiting him to nine points on 3 of 10 shooting from the floor.  Nelson put up 23 points and nine assists, his fifth 20+ point game of the playoffs.

Paul Pierce finished Game 4 with 32 points, but was 0-6 from behind the arc.  Both Pierce and Garnett had double-doubles, while Ray Allen added 22 points and five 3’s.  The difference in the game was the play off the bench.  The Boston bench scored just 12 points, a big difference from their 28-point effort in Game 3.

The underdog has been the play this year between these two teams.  The club getting points improved to 7-1 Against The Spread in these teams’ eight meetings this season. The Magic are 5-6 Against The Spread at home off a road victory.  Orlando lost to Boston in this situation in the series opener.

The Game 4 defeat halted a six-game Spread winning streak for the Celtics in the postseason.  The Celtics now boast a record of 11-4 Against The Spread. Heading into Game 5 as an underdog, the Celtics are 6-2 Against The Spread when getting points in the playoffs, winning six of those games straight-up. The Magic are 7-3 Against The Spread as a favorite in the postseason. Since April 1, Orlando is 15-5 Against The Spread as the favorite.

Tonight’s game tips off at 8:30 PM EST on ESPN.

Who covers the spread tonight?  It is not your job to analyze these stats and trends, it’s ours.  This is our life and our living.  Let FiveStarPick.com take away the guesswork in the NBA Playoffs and provide you with winning NBA Playoff Picks that beat the spread and get results.  If you’re skeptical, monitor our daily plays on our homepage and see if our talent for picking winners exceeds your expectations.  Or join for two days…it’s only $19.99.  Join our family today and start winning tonight.

Rick Riley – FiveStarPick.com

Well…Another 2-0 night for the pros at FiveStarPick.com. Life is good when you are cashing big tickets.  Your food tastes better, your job is a lot more fun, your wife is prettier and your golf game is better.  Tonight we plan to extend that good feeling as we give our members the spread winner of Game 4 in the Eastern Conference Finals.  Las Vegas sportsbooks list the Boston Celtics as 7.5-point home favorites tonight over the Orlando Magic with a total of 189.  Once again…Vegas has this line DEAD WRONG!

Orlando (67-26 Straight Up, 53-38-2 Against The Spread) has yet to show up in this series.  They have brought no heart, no fight, no intensity and no competitive fire against the Celtics. Game 3 was a perfect example as the Magic got crushed again, 94-71, in a must win situation. 

Dwight Howard, the Orlando Magic superstar, went 3-for-10 from the field and 1-of-4 at the line, finishing with only seven points and seven rebounds in over 39 minutes of playing time. Rashard Lewis, with his $118 million contract, had just as many points (four) as turnovers in Game 3.

Boston (61-35 Straight Up, 44-50- Against The Spread), on the other hand, has been nothing short of stellar. Now with a commanding 3-0 series lead, the Celtics will try and bring out the broom tonight in Game 4. In Game 3, Glen Davis came off the bench to score a game-high 17 points, while Rajon Rondo finished with 11 points, 12 assists and four steals. Paul Pierce added 15 points and nine rebounds, while Ray Allen had 14 points, six assists and six boards.

The Magic are looking at their biggest underdog spot of the season. The Magic have been a 6-point underdog three times this year, going 1-1-1 Against The Spread in games at Boston, at the Lakers and at Cleveland.

The Celtics have now won six in a row both SU and Against The Spread since losing Game 3 at home to the Cavs in the East semifinals.

Tip-off is tonight at 8:30 p.m. Eastern on ESPN.

Who covers the spread tonight?  It is not your job to analyze these stats and trends, it’s ours.  This is our life and our living.  Let FiveStarPick.com take away the guesswork in the NBA Playoffs and provide you with winning NBA Playoff Picks that beat the spread and get results.  If you’re skeptical, monitor our daily plays on our homepage and see if our talent for picking winners exceeds your expectations.  Or join for two days…it’s only $19.99.  Join our family today and start winning tonight.

Rick Riley – FiveStarPick.com