The Suns took care of business in what was a chippy and hard-fought Game 1 defensively. Do the Suns have LeBron James’ number, or will the great one and his defending champion Lakers come out with a huge effort to take back home court advantage?
Tuesday, May 25, 2021 – 10:00 PM EDT at Phoenix Suns Arena
A lot happened in the first half of these two team’s Game 1. The Suns’ defense absolutely stifled the Lakers in the first half and that was pretty much all they needed to win the game. The second half the Lakers only out-scored the Suns by 1 point. Now we enter Game 2 in what could be labeled a do-or-die game for the Lakers. This Suns team is too good to go down 0-2 against, even if the next two games are in Staples Center.
They say that playoff series don’t really start until the road team wins, so the Lakers are probably consoling themselves with this tired trope. However, that doesn’t really qualify for the defending champs. Once the defending champs lose once, the pressure is on. If they lose two games in a row, the pressure will be out of this world heading back to LA for Game 3.
That’s why I think most people are projecting a very stout Lakers response here. Coming off a loss in the regular season, the Lakers were 16-13-1 ATS. That record may have been better if they weren’t so injured during the second half, but needless to say, with the season hanging in the balance, I expect the Lakers to bring their best effort on defense to start Game 2.
The full-game total of 209 points is there for a reason. The sportsbooks realize that the first team to make it to 105 points is probably winning this game. These two teams failed to score a combined 200 in the first matchup and I’m assuming that happens again here. However, I think the better play is the first half under of 106 points. These two teams both ranked in the top 10 in the league in first half defense this season. At home, the Suns ranked 4th-best in the NBA in first half defense and on the road, the Lakers were the second-best road first half defense in the NBA.
If these two teams can muster up good first half defense in the regular season, one can surely expect them to do the same here in the playoffs. The one thing scaring me away from the full game total is the Suns being 4-0 cashing the over when they are home dogs like tonight. However, if this is truly going to be a Lakers win here, I expect the Suns to be held in check offensively.
Considering the Lakers on the other side were 16-6 cashing the under as road favorites this season, I think the first half under is the play here. I definitely couldn’t talk you off the full game either, but the first half is the better value in my opinion.
NBA Pick: UNDER 106.5 1st Half @ BetOnline