The NBA brass wanted the dream matchup Kobe vs Lebron but Orlando would have no part of it upsetting Cleveland in the Eastern Conference Championship. The Lakers will have the home court advantage but Orlando has overcame the advantage in the last two series. In the regular season Orlando swept the LA Lakers and also covered the spread in both games. Series prices have LA as a favorite at -260 and Orlando as underdog at +210. Game 1 line opens with LA as a 6 point favorite and the total of 206. Today Craig is going to breakdown the recent betting trends for the Magic and Lakers.

The Magic have been great against the spread going 7-1 the last eight games. Not only were they covering the spread but they were killing the spread covering by an average of 7 points. The over total has also been hot for Orlando as they have gone over 5 of last 6 games. Orlando was almost as big as underdog against Cleveland as they are against LA but obviously that won't discourage the Magic. For Orlando backers if you like there series price of +210 or +240 for game 1 there is great value in this super hot underdog team.

The Lakers have been the odds on favorite to win the NBA Championship since week 1 of the regular season. LA has not played consistently well throughout the playoffs which is definitely shown in Lakers spread record of 5-5 the last 10 games. But the Lakers have played much better the last 4 winning 3 of 4 games both straight up and against the line. The high powered Lakers have surprisingly been a great under totals play the last 10 games going 8-2. Not great betting value if you are an a LA backer but to be fair they have been about this price for a month. The value is definitely in the total if you think LA can continue to play shut down defense.

This series have two teams with opposite betting trends, so the real question starts for all handicappers. Can Orlando keep the hot three point shooting and force over totals and against the spread covers?? Can LA continue there defensive improvement and shut down Orlando's outside shotting??

Can't wait for game 1 but no matter who you are backing make sure you don't miss these games! Make sure you don't miss Craig's picks which are 4-1 the last 7 days in the NBA!!