The Los Angeles Lakers will try and eliminate the Utah Jazz on Monday but the NBA betting odds point to the series continuing as the Jazz are 2.5 point favorites. The Lakers have won the first three games of this series but each of the games has been competitive in basketball betting. NBA betting odds list the Jazz as a 2.5 point favorite on Monday with a total of 206.5 in this game that can be seen on TNT television. The Lakers just got past the Jazz in Game 3, winning 111-110. Utah had a chance to win the game at the end but Deron Williams missed and Wesley Mathews missed a tip-in at the buzzer.
The Lakers won on Saturday night thanks to their outside shooting. They made 9 of 16 (56.3 percent) of their 3-pointers in the second half. The Lakers had not shot nearly that well in the playoffs from the outside but on Saturday night they were deadly from 3-point range. “They were different looks,” Kobe Bryant said, “In Oklahoma in those games, we had a lot of ‘settle’ 3s [with] the shot clock going down and things like that. Those are tougher shots. The 3s we got tonight were 3s with your feet set, ball movement, good spacing; they were completely different looks. Similar amount, but different looks entirely.” Utah sagged down low to contain Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum and the Lakers made them pay for it. The biggest three-pointer of the night was hit by Derek Fisher as the former Utah guard put the dagger into the heart of the Jazz. Los Angeles is 11-3 in playoff games against the Jazz since Fisher joined the Lakers. “It seems like I’m the reason why,” he said. “I think No. 24 (Bryant), No. 16 (Pau Gasol), some other guys have a lot more to do with it.”
The time to take the Lakers in NBA betting is when they are getting points. The Lakers are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 playoff games as an underdog. One concern for those betting Los Angeles on Monday is that the Lakers are 1-8-1 ATS in their last 10 Monday games. Normally the Jazz are tough at home laying points as they are 18-7-2 ATS in their last 27 games as a home favorite.
Monday’s game could be high scoring in basketball betting. The Lakers have gone over the total in six of their last seven games. The last six Utah games have all gone over the total.