The Boston Celtics have a chance to win the NBA betting title on Tuesday night in Los Angeles as they take on the Lakers in Game 6. The Celtics won two of their three home games to take a 3-2 lead in the series. Two years ago the Lakers rode Paul Pierce to the NBA title as they beat the Lakers and they are trying to take that same road again. Pierce had 27 points on Sunday night as the Celtics won 92-86 despite Kobe Bryant scoring 38 points for the Lakers.
The Lakers are a 6.5 point favorite with a total of 187.5 at SBG Global.
The Lakers need to win on Tuesday to force a Game 7 on Thursday. If the Lakers don’t get some other players to help Kobe it is unlikely they will win. Kobe did everything on Tuesday but no one else stepped up to contribute. Ron Artest missed two big free throws, Lamar Odom was terrible again and Pau Gasol is living up to his label as soft. Andrew Bynum could be a factor but he is barely healthy enough to walk. Boston is playing like a team that wants to win the championship, getting contributions from a number of players while the Lakers are only getting a great effort from Kobe.
History is against the Lakers as teams that lead 3-2 in the NBA Finals win most of the time. Of the 25 NBA Finals betting series that have been tied at two, the winner of Game 5 went on to win 19 of them. The only thing the Lakers have going for them is their home court. If the Celtics expect to win the series they probably need to do it on Tuesday.
Boston has been excellent in the NBA Finals recently. The Celtics are 9-2 ATS in their last 11 NBA Championship games. The Celtics are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 road games. The Celtics are 12-4-1 ATS in the last 17 meetings against the Lakers. The Lakers are 6-14-1 ATS in their last 21 NBA Championship games.
The Under is 4-1-1 in the Celtics last 6 overall. The Over is 6-1-1 in the Lakers last 8 home games but the Under is 5-1-1 in the Lakers last 7 overall. The Under is 5-1-1 in the last 7 meetings between the two teams.
