Portland will try and save their season as the teams play Game 5 in Orlando, Fla. And the odds are very clearly in the Lakers’ favor given the health situation of their star player. They will be competing to stay alive without the guy that does most of their work.
If they can come away with a win and push the series to six, it would be truly impressive. Last year’s trip to the conference finals is not going to be topped.
The Lakers, on the other hand, are aiming to get the win and finish things off. The Thunder and Rockets are battling closely within their series, to see who ends up drawing the Lakers in the second round. The Lakers have been able to find their stride and get into a rhythm in the last few games.
LeBron and co. will hope to put this series to bed. They will go for the knockout right from the opening tip. Their Game 1 loss is all but forgotten.
ODDS:
The Lakers are 13.5-point favorites with the over/under set at 222.
Portland Hoping for Miracle
When Damian Lillard is out of the lineup, it means your team is missing an awful lot of scoring, playmaking, and leadership too. He has taken on the role of team leader, among many things, this season. He has been filling up the scoreboard throughout the restart and trying to prove him to be elite.
He has done that without a doubt, but they have dropped three games in a row within the series. CJ McCollum is a big part of the offense, so everyone will have to step up in his absence. Perhaps Gary Trent Jr. will slide into the starting lineup for tonight.
Nurkic has been exhausted from all of his efforts, with Hassan Whiteside playing poor basketball at the power forward and center spot. Can they still pull it off?
Lakers Look to End Series
The odds favor them, with a heavy cushion on the plus/minus area. LeBron has been a perfect leader for them, with Anthony Davis starting to play great ball. And he only had to play 18 minutes, dominating his time on the floor. He’ll look to stay hot.
Dwight Howard will be looking to bring the energy off the bench.
Danny Green finally came around and performed at the level he did in Toronto last year. He was burying his jumpers while continuing to do an excellent job on the defensive end. Caldwell-Pope has also followed suit with his production.
All they have to do is continue to play the same style, and the game will be theirs. The Lakers have advantages at most positions.
Lakers Put the Series to Bed
Sorry Portland, but this is going to be it. No Dame will spell the end of them, and as valiant as their effort will be, it won’t be enough.
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