NBA futures and props favor the Los Angeles Lakers by about a 3-1 margin in the Western Conference Finals vs. the Phoenix Suns. The Lakers have the home court edge and the defending NBA champs are expected to get past the Suns in basketball futures and props.
NBA futures and props favor Los Angeles in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals on Monday. The Lakers are laying 6.5 points to the Suns in Game 1. The total on the game is 210.5 and it could be a high scoring series. The Suns scored at least 110 points in three of their four games against the Spurs and the Lakers did the same thing against the Jazz in their series.
One of the big keys in this series in basketball futures and props could be whether or not Phoenix center Robin Lopez is able to play. The Jazz couldn’t handle Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum and the Suns would be in a similar situation if they don’t have Lopez in the lineup.
Los Angeles are led by Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. Not many teams have contained the two Lakers stars and the Suns could struggle defensively against those two players. The Suns will try using Grant Hill on Kobe and they may be able to slow him down but they won’t contain him. Phoenix really needs Lopez since they can’t count on Amare Stoudemire to handle Gasol or Bynum.
The Suns are going to look to run at every opportunity. Steve Nash will look to push the pace and the Lakers might have to use different players to contain him. Derek Fisher is unlikely to keep up so Los Angeles may need Shannon Brown, Jordan Farmer and Sasha Vujacic to get regular playing time.
The Lakers took three of four from Phoenix in the regular season. The first matchup was in Los Angeles as the Lakers blew away the Suns 121-102 and Gasol didn’t even play in that game. Bynum had a big game with 26 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks while Kobe added 29 points. The Lakers also routed the Suns in Los Angeles back in December by a score of 108-88 as Kobe had 26 points. Later that month the Suns beat Los Angeles 118-103 in Phoenix as Stoudemire had 26 points and six players were in double figures. The other game during the regular season was a 102-96 Los Angeles win in Phoenix in March.