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NBA Playoff Odds: Houston Rockets vs. Los Angeles Lakers Game 5

No Yao Ming, no problem. The Houston Rockets evened their Western Conference Semifinal Series with top seed Los Angeles with a dominant 99-87 victory without their star center, who will miss the remainder of the postseason with a foot injury. The game really wasn’t even as close as the final score might lead you to believe. Now the series shifts back to Los Angeles for Game 5 Tuesday night at 10:30 pm EST on TNT and NBA odds makers are expecting LA to show up this time, listing the Lakers as 12-point favorites with the total set at 197.5.

Game 4 was flat out ugly for the Lakers, who trailed by 13 at the end of the first quarter, 18 at the half, and 29 at the end of the third. Kobe Bryant finished with only 15 points on 7 of 17 shooting, after scoring better than 30 in each of the first three games of the series. Pau Gasol was the only Laker to show up, scoring 30 points. The Lakers had no answer for Houston point guard Aaron Brooks, who scorched them for 34 points on 12 of 20 shooting. As if the Lakers’ bruising loss wasn’t bad enough, they could be without forward Lamar Odom, who left Game 4 after hurting his back when he went down hard on a drive to the basket. Odom was set to undergo tests Monday and is currently listed as questionable.  I have no doubts that the Lakers will come out with much better energy and will play with a  greater sense of urgency in Game 4. We can definitely expect a much better performance from Kobe Bryant, who rarely fails to show up in the playoffs. If you think Los Angeles will blow out the Rockets in Game 5, bet the Lakers at -12 at Bookmaker and receive a 20 percent cash sign up bonus.

What a statement the Houston Rockets made in Game 4. It would have been easy to quit after falling behind in the series 1-2 and losing their best player for the season, but the Rockets showed the same resiliency that has seen them succeed without Tracy McGrady in the lineup for an extended period of time. What makes the Game 4 win even more remarkable is the fact that Ron Artest did not play well, shooting just 4 of 19 from the field for 8 points. The Rockets were able to win Game 1 in Los Angeles, but Yao Ming played a big part in that win. Now, the Rockets are going to have to find another way to win. One thing is for sure, they will need a much better performance from Artest.  The Rockets’ forward did not go to the free throw line even once in Sunday’s game, and that’s a place he needs to live. For the Rockets to win Game 5, Artest must quit settling for so many jump shots, and he must start using his size and strength to take the ball aggressively to the basket. On top of that, Houston has been very good in the postseason when getting big point production from Aaron Brooks. Not surprisingly, the Rockets have won Brooks’ two best offensive games in this series. If you think the odds makers are overvaluing the Lakers, bet the Rockets at +12 at Bookmaker.

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