Posted on 4/11/2008 5:36:22 PM

NBA Online Sports Betting Free Picks - Hornets vs. Lakers

By D.S Williamson

New Orleans Hornets (+ 3.5) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (- 3.5)

The online sports betting community need to know that this is a huge game. The Hornets are fighting for that number one seed in the Western Conference Playoffs. The Los Angeles Lakers are trying to stay a game ahead of the Phoenix Suns for the Pacific Division title. For the Lakers, some bad news came Thursday morning. Andrew Bynum, the Lakers center, is going to see a knee specialist to determine when or if he can return to the Lakers’ line-up. This will likely give sportsbook bettors a better idea of what they will wager on the Lakers going forward. Even though the Lakers are solid upfront with Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom, they could use Bynum’s defensive intensity once the playoffs start. The Lakers’ lack of solid defense has reflected itself in their record against the BetUS spread. In their last 10 games the Lakers are a terrible 3 and 7 against the BetUS spread.

The New Orleans Hornets have shown true grit down the stretch of the NBA regular season. They are only one game ahead of the San Antonio Spurs. Somehow this team has found a way to maintain that one game margin for almost a month. Against the BetUS spread the Hornets are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games. Straight-up they have been terrific going 8 and 2 in their last 10 games. Here are more trends.

The New Orleans Hornets are 5-1-1 against the spread in their last 7 games on the road.

The Los Angeles Lakers are 5 and 1 against the spread in their last 6 games playing on zero days of rest.

The Over is 6 and 0 in the New Orleans Hornets last 6 games as an underdog on the road.

The Over is 9 and 2 in the last 11 meetings between these two teams.

There are actually two bets that I like in this game. The first is the BetUS over at 212 points. That equates to around 106 points from each team. I love this over. With Chris Paul manning the ship for the Hornets, and Kobe Bryant at helm for the Lakers, this looks like an easy 220 game to me.

The Hornets will take the open shot and there should be plenty of them as the Lakers don’t really play defense. The Lakers just score - - a lot.

The second wager I like is the money-line. At this exact moment BetUS has not posted the money-line odds on the New Orleans Hornets (you can check right now - - they’re probably posted!).

No matter what that money-line is, I like it. I think that New Orleans will win this game outright because at the end of the day they are the better team. They also play defense. That counts for something, right?

The BetUS over/under is 212 points in the New Orleans Hornets versus Los Angeles Lakers game.

I like this game to go over. I will also have some dollars on the New Orleans Hornets to win straight-up.

You’ll find the latest 2007-2008 NBA odds and lines in the best online sportsbook, BetUS.com. Betting on NBA player and game props makes every aspect of the game exciting. Join BetUS.com today to bet on the NBA and make online sports betting work for you!