Los Angeles Lakers vs Phoenix Suns NBA Playoffs Betting Pick, Odds, Predictions & Lines

The Lakers and the Suns will face off in Game 2 of the First Round of the playoffs on Tuesday night. Phoenix won the first game, 99-90. It was their fourth win in a row after they closed the regular season with 3 straight victories to clinch the No. 2 seed. They now have a 52-21 straight up record. Against the spread, the Suns are 43-28-2. The Lakers got through the Warriors in the play-in but stumbled in the first playoff game for their first loss in 7 games. Overall, they’re now at 43-31, going 32-41-1 ATS. Sunday’s game was the fourth this season between the two. Phoenix came out as the winner three times.

Line Movement

Despite winning the first online sports betting matchup, the Suns are entering Game 2 as underdogs. The Lakers opened as -1.5 favorites, but the line has increased a bit and now stands at -2. The total was initially 208.5 but has dropped a little, to 208.

Notes on the Lakers

The Lakers have lost the first game of the playoffs for the second year in the row. But, this time it’s against the No.2 seed and the reigning champs will have to significantly raise their game if they’re to get out of this series. On Sunday, the Lakers never really got going on offense. They finished with only 90 points despite having 16 free throws more than Phoenix. LeBron James and Anthony Davis scored only 31 points combined, less than Devin Booker did on his own. Plus, they shot 11-from-29 combined from the floor. AD, especially, had an off-night and had trouble finding the space to operate. He seems to struggle when in the lineup with the non-shooting centers. Drummond and Harrel played 34 minutes combined on Sunday and Davis looked bad when either of them was on the floor. In Game 2, we can expect to see more AD at the 5 or, at least, some minutes with Marc Gasol.

Coach Vogel has all his players available for Tuesday night.

Notes on the Suns

On Sunday, the Suns proved that that being the No. 2 seed was no fluke. In their first playoff game in 11 years, they controlled the game from start to finish and earned a valuable win. Devin Booker was unstoppable in his long-awaited playoff debut. He set the franchise record for most points in the first playoff game with 34. Booker also added 7 rebounds and 8 assists and handled a lot of playmaking duties in the second half. Another player making his first playoff appearance, Deandre Ayton, excelled on both ends of the court. He finished with 21 points and 16 rebounds. The only negative for the Suns in this game was Chris Paul’s injury. The experienced point guard injured his right shoulder in the second quarter. Paul returned to the game but was obviously not himself for the rest of the contest.

After the game, Paul stated that he’ll be “absolutely ready” for Tuesday. However, he’s still listed as game time decision.

Betting Pick: Under 208

The Lakers entered the postseason as the second-best defensive team in the league. They mostly did a good job in the first game apart from containing Devin Booker. We can expect them to work been harder on the end in Game 2. In addition, Phoenix’s offense will suffer if Paul isn’t 100%. The Suns, on the other hand, are 7th in the league in points allowed and are a tough and gritty team themselves. We can expect one more tight contest, likely ending in another UNDER.