FiveStarPick.com looks forward to another cash flowing night as we give our members the against the spread winner of Game 5 in the NBA Finals.  Las Vegas sportsbooks list the Orlando Magic as 2.5-point favorites with the total coming in around 198.

Los Angeles took a commanding 3-1 lead in the 2009 NBA Finals with a 99-91 victory over the Magic at Amway Arena. The Lakers took the cash as two-point road underdogs and the combined 190 points stayed ‘under’ the 202-point closing total.  This game marked the second time in this series that the under cashed inspite of an extra session of play.  The members of FiveStarPick.com had major heart attacks, but still cashed on the ‘under’ in both of those games. 

L.A. was trailing 87-84 with 11 seconds remaining in regulation, but then Dwight Howard missed a pair of free throws to keep the Lakers in it.  Derek Fisher seized the moment with a clutch 3 that sent the game into overtime. 

It reminds us of a very similar Orlando Magic incident that happened 14 years ago when Nick Anderson missed two free throws to lose the game against the Houston Rockets in the 1995 NBA Finals. The old Orlando Magic joke used to be, “What does Nick “the brick” Anderson and Billy Graham have in common?  They were the only two people in America that could make a stadium full of people stand up and yell, ‘Jesus Christ’.”  History has repeated itself…now we can just insert Dwight Howard’s name in the same joke.  

With the game tied at 91 in OT, Bryant backed Pietrus down on the low post. When the double team came, Bryant found Fisher at the top of the key. Fisher’s go-ahead 3-pointer was the nail in the coffin.

Now let’s talk trends… in a road game where where the total is between 195 and 199.5 points, the Lakers are 15-12 against the spread.  When coming off an upset win as an underdog, the Lakers are 21-15 against the spread. The Orlando Magic are 10-6 against the spread in a home game where where the total is between 195 and 199.5 points and 69-45 against the spread when revenging a loss versus an opponent.

Who covers the spread in Game 5 of the 2009 NBA Finals?  Let the pros at FiveStarPick.com analyze the stats and trends and take some of the pressure off you tonight.  This is our life and our living and FiveStarPick.com will take away the guesswork in the 2009 NBA Finals and provide you with winning NBA Finals Picks that beat the spread and get results.  We are consistently providing over 3000 members with NBA Picks that cover the spread.  If you’re skeptical, monitor our plays from 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.

total is between 195 and 199.5 points, the Lakers are 15-12 against the spread.off an upset win as an underdog

Jimmy the Geek – FiveStarPick.com

FiveStarPick.com will be giving its members two plays on today’s board, the first is in Major League Baseball as the Yankees take on the Red Sox and the other is tonight’s ‘Total’ in the NBA Finals.  The focus of today’s preview is the Game 4 showdown between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Orlando Magic.  Las Vegas sportsbooks list the Magic as two point favorites with a total of 203.

On Tuesday, Orlando dropped Los Angeles 108-104 in Game 3 to pull within 1 in the best-of-seven series. The Magic set NBA Finals records for shooting percentage from the floor in both the first half (75%) and the game (63%).   However, Orlando’s specialty, the 3-point shot, was just 5-of-14 (35.7%) on Tuesday.  The key to Orlando’s success is balance and attacking the rim, which is exactly what the Magic did in Game 3.

Rafer Alston scored 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting in Game 3 and Pietrus had 18 points by hitting 7-of-11 attempts from the field. Kobe Bryant finished with 31 points but was just 3-of-10 in the second half including some costly misses from the free throw line. 

On another note worth mentioning, our email box was flooded with comments about why the refs blew the whistle at the end of game 3 with a half second left.  Orlando was pushing the spread as a 4-point favorite, 106-102.  The Lakers missed numerous 3-point attempts before Kobe Bryant finger rolled in a meaningless bucket to cut the lead to 106-104.  On the ensuing in-bounds play, the Lakers immediately fouled, but the horn sounded and the confetti fell from the rafters at Amway Arena.  For bettors who had the Lakers as four-point dogs, this was obviously crucial.

After reviewing the play, the officials added 0.2 ticks back on the clock and Rashard Lewis went to the free throw line for two. He hit both free throws for a push, but many of our Lakers bettors were pissed.  What’s even funnier about the second make is it appeared that Van Gundy wanted him to miss.  Maybe the coach had the Lakers in Game 3.  It wouldn’t be the first time a coach had bet big money against his own team.  But we will leave that to the conspiracy theorists. 

Bettors should also be aware that Game 3’s loss now gives the Lakers a road record of 4-5 both SU and against the spread in the playoffs. Fatigue could be an issue in Game 4, since this will be the second battle played on one-day of rest for both teams and the third game in five days.

Who covers the spread in Game 4 of the 2009 NBA Finals?  Let the pros at FiveStarPick.com analyze the stats and trends and take some of the pressure off you tonight.  This is our life and our living and FiveStarPick.com will take away the guesswork in the 2009 NBA Finals and provide you with winning NBA Finals Picks that beat the spread and get results.  We are consistently providing over 3000 members with NBA Picks that cover the spread.  If you’re skeptical, monitor our plays from 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.

Jimmy the Geek – FiveStarPick.com

FiveStarPick.com has been on fire in the 2009 NBA Postseason and today we will be giving our members the Total in Game 2 of the 2009 NBA Finals.  The Orlando Magic are still in “Lala Land” to face off with Kobe Bryant and the Lake show.  Las Vegas sportsbooks list the Lakers as 6.5-point home favorites with a total of 202.5.

L.A. was dominant in Game 1 on Thursday night winning 100-75 and easily covering the spread as 6 ½-point home favorites.  Kobe Bryant scored a game-high 40 points with eight rebounds, eight assists, two steals, two blocked shots and only one turnover.  Pau Gasol added 16 points and eight boards, while Lamar Odom had another postseason double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds.

For Orlando, Dwight Howard had a terrible night going just 1 for 6 from the floor for 12 points.  He still managed to grab 15 rebounds, but Howard’s will have to step up his scoring if the Magic want to have any chance of beating the Lakers in Game 2.  Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis didn’t provide much of a spark either.  Turkoglu finished with 13 points and committed more turnovers (four) than assists (two).  Lewis was held to only eight points, going 2-for-10 from the field.  Orlando made a meager 29.9 percent of its shots from the floor and scored only 75-points, their lowest scoring game since losing 82-73 to Denver way back in February.

Contrary to what most of the pundits think, the pros at FiveStarPick.com know that this series is far from over, so remember, Orlando won both regular-season encounters with the Lakers, including a 109-103 win at the Staples Center on January 16th.  Don’t get trapped on the favorites in this series. 

Now let’s talk trends…The Under is 2-1 in the three head-to-head meetings between these teams this year and is 57-45 overall for the Magic, 26-26 on the road.  The Under is 52-48-1 overall for the Lakers, 27-25 in their home games. The Under is on a 9-2 run for L.A. in its last 11 games regardless of venue. L.A. has watched the Under go 16-5 in its last 21 home outings.

Who covers the spread in Game 2 of the 2009 NBA Finals?  Let the pros at FiveStarPick.com analyze the stats and trends and take some of the pressure off you tonight.  This is our life and our living and FiveStarPick.com will take away the guesswork in the 2009 NBA Finals and provide you with winning NBA Finals Picks that beat the spread and get results.  We are consistently providing over 3000 members with NBA Picks that cover the spread.  If you’re skeptical, monitor our plays from 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.

Jimmy The Geek – FiveStarPick.com

The pros at FiveStarPick.com have spent hours breaking down stats and trends for the upcoming 2009 NBA Finals.  The Magic will travel to tinseltown to take on the Lakers in Game 1 on Thursday night which will provide another against the spread winner for our membership.  Today we will give you some of the highlights of our research to try and get you on the right track to thinking like a pro.

Let’s start with the Orlando Magic.  The Magic began the postseason covering the spread in 4 of their first 11 games.  But since then, they have covered the spread in seven of their last eight matchups.  Las Vegas sportsbooks list the Lakers as 6-point home favorites in Game 1 with a total of 206.  You should note that Stan Van Gundy’s team is 6-3 against the spread as an underdog in the playoffs and 5-3 against the spread as an underdog on the road.  For the season, the Magic are 32-19 against the spread on the road and 16-6 against the spread as a road ‘dog.  To break it down further, the Magic are 15-4 against the spread when getting points on the road coming off a straight up win.  Whew…that is a lot to digest! 

Now what about the Lakers…the Lakers have been a toss up for bettors during the 2009 NBA Playoffs going 9-9 against the spread; 7-8 against the spread as a favorite.  Betting on LA has been like kissing your sister this year, going 25-26 against the spread as a home favorite and 17-21 against the spread as home favorite coming off a win.  The Lakers haven’t helped bettors much on the road either covering 26 of 49 games, but as a road ‘dog L.A. has gone 9-2 against the spread during the playoffs.  Los Angeles is a dismal 2-7-1 against the spread in the first two games of the Finals in their last five apperances dating back to 2000, including a 1-4 against the spread record in Finals openers.

To break it down further, going into Game 1 on Thursday, the Lakers are a solid 6-2 against the spread on at least three days rest, while the Magic are a dismal 1-4 against the spread off the same.  One more tidbit…8 of the last 11 Finals series openers have finished ‘under’ the total.  Feeling better about this?

Who covers the spread in the 2009 NBA Finals?  Let us analyze the stats and trends and take some of the pressure off.  This is our life and our living and FiveStarPick.com will take away the guesswork in the 2009 NBA Finals and provide you with winning NBA Finals Picks that beat the spread and get results.  We are consistently providing over 3000 members with NBA Picks that cover the spread.  If you’re skeptical, monitor our plays from 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.

Jimmy The Geek – FiveStarPick.com

FiveStarPick.com will be giving its members two (2) plays today.  The first is the focus of today’s preview as the Cleveland Cavaliers travel to Orlando for Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals.  Its win or go home for the Cavaliers tonight and Las Vegas sportsbooks have responded listing the Magic as 2-point home favorites with a total of 192.

Last Thursday night in Game 5, Cleveland blew a 22-point lead even falling behind in the third quarter.  But LeBron wasn’t about to let his team lose at home.  King James roasted the fourth quarter with 17 points to will his team to a 112-102 victory.  For the first time in the series and in the last 10 head-to-head meetings against Orlando, the Cavs beat the spread as 8-point home favorites. The combined 214 points went over the 190 ½-point total.

The King ended up with his fourth career playoff triple-double with 37 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists. Mo Williams added 24 points and Ilgauskas went down for 16.   Cleveland (76-19 straight up, 58-36-1 against the spread) had the lead at halftime, 56-55, but Orlando got hot.  Dwight Howard finished with 24 points, while Hedo Turkoglu had 29 points. The 29-point effort was a career-best for Turkoglu during the postseason. Rashard Lewis also showed up with 15 points, eight rebounds and four steals.

Now let’s talk trends…The Magic have hosted Cleveland four times this year, going a perfect 4-0 both straight up and against the spread.  The Magic are 38-11 SU and 28-21 against the spread at home.  The Cavs are 31-16 SU and 26-21-1 against the spread on the road and have a 6-7 against the spread record in 13 underdog spots (both home and away) this year. This is just the second time Cleveland has been an underdog in the playoffs, losing 99-89 at Orlando as a 1 ½-point ‘dog in Game 3.

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 Conference Finals and provide you with winning NBA Conference Finals 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.  Or join for two days…it’s only $19.99.  Join our family today and start winning tonight.

Jimmy The Geek – FiveStarPick.com