Congratulations to all our members on another 2-0 against the spread night as we gave our members the Celtics +6.5 and the Suns -4. Tonight we are giving our members the spread winner of Jazz/Lakers and Hawks/Magic.  Las Vegas sportsbooks list the Lakers as 6-point home favorites with a total of 199.5.

Kobe Bryant and the Lakers managed to defend their home court in game 1 against the Utah Jazz, but it wasn’t easy.  Utah held the lead with minutes remaining before the Lakers came back and stole the show.

Kobe Bryant elevated his play with 11 points in the final 4 minutes of Game 1 to finish with a team high 31 points; even with a bum knee.

On the trend side, Phil Jackson is 45-0 for his career when he wins the first game of any series. 

Utah may get a jolt on defence Thursday as Andrei Kirilenko might return to the lineup.  However Kirilenko’s effectiveness could be suspect as he has almost missed two months with a left calf injury. The Jazz can steal game 2 if their defence can contain the Laker’s starting 5, however Utah has had trouble on the road all year going only 21-20 against the spread in the regular season as visitors. 

So what does all this mean?  Who will cover 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

If the playoffs started today, the Jazz (38-22 SU, 37-21 ATS) and Suns (39-24 SU, 36-26 ATS) would be playing each other in the first round. These two teams will meet tonight for the second time this season, with tonight’s venue taking place from US Airways Center in Phoenix. Utah dominated Phoenix 124-115 on January 25th as a seven-point home favorite and the combined 239 points easily hit the Over. The home victory by the Jazz was the fifth straight for the host team in this head-to-head series.

When breaking down this game, most gamblers look at the point guard matchup between Steve Nash and Deron Williams. In the January game, Nash scored 15 points and gave out 15 assists, while Williams tallied 18 points and 11 assists, which most would consider pretty even. The key to Utah’s win was rebounding (48-31), plus Phoenix was fortunate to stay in the game with a 17-of-30 (57%) performance from behind the arc.

Phoenix is the hot team of late going 13-3 SU and 14-2 Agains The Spread in their last 16, which includes a 6-1 SU and Against The Spread mark at home. The Suns will be playing on zero days rest tonight after crushing the Clippers 127-101 in L.A. on Wednesday. The club have a 6-9 Against The Spread record with no rest this season, however, only five of those 15 games were played at home and the Suns have gone 4-1 SU and 3-2 Against The Spread in that span.

Utah has always played better at home, but the Jazz are an impressive 16-11 Against The Spread outside of Salt Lake this season. Utah was on a roll with seven straight wins and covers away from home, but recently they have suffered bad road losses to the Kings (99-103) last Friday and Clippers (104-108) on Monday.

Who covers the spread in this NBA basketball matchup?  It’s very easy to find out.  Try FiveStarPick.com tonight for just ($19.99) and see if our talent for picking college and pro basketball winners exceeds your expectations.  We are the only sports handicapping service in the business who documents wins and losses and displays them on our homepage for all to witness.  It’s because we have nothing to hide…we just win games against the spread.  Join our family today and start your winning streak tonight.

Rick Riley – FiveStarPick.com

FiveStarPick.com will be giving its members against the spread winners in three games today.  The focus of today’s preview is Game 2 in the Western Conference matchup between the Utah Jazz and the Los Angeles Lakers.  Las Vegas sportsbooks have listed the Lakers (66-17 Straight Up, 44-39 Against The Spread) as a 12-point favorite with the total hovering around 211-212.

L.A. crushed Utah 113-100 in Game 1 of this best-of-seven first-round series.  Kobe Bryant lead the Lakers with 24 points and eight assists. Trevor Ariza added 21 points and Pau Gasol finished with 20 points and nine rebounds.

Utah (48-35 Straight Up, 39-44 Against The Spread) might had a great second-half performance two nights ago, but the Jazz trailed 62-40 at the half. Carlos Boozer scored 27 points and had nine rebounds, while Deron Williams added 16 points and 17 assists.

Now let’s talk trends…Utah has failed to cover the number in all three of its games as a double-digit underdog this year (at L.A. twice and at Cleveland).  The Lakers are 14-19 against the spread in 33 games as double-digit favorites this season.  Phil Jackson teams in Chicago and L.A. have won all 41 playoff series in which they won Game 1.  These clubs have played in L.A. three times this year and the Lakers won all three contests by a 13-point margin. The Lakers covered the spread in all three of those meetings, but the Jazz did wub 113-109 in the lone game played in Salt Lake City back on February 11th.

It is not your job to research these stats and trends.  It’s ours.  This is our life and our living.  Let FiveStarPick.com take away the guesswork this NBA Playoffs and provide you with winning NBA Playoff Picks that beat the spread and get results.  We are consistently providing over 3000 members with NBA Picks that cover the spread and get results.  If you’re skeptical, monitor our plays from our homepage and see if our talent for picking winners exceeds your expectations.  Join our family today and start winning tonight.

Jimmy The Geek – FiveStarPick.com