NBA Betting Preview: Back quality Lakers on their winning streak

Basketball / Nick Shiambouros / 11 November 2008 / Leave a Comment

He may not have got off to a winning start at Detroit but Nick Shiambouros believes Alan Iverson will be a big success at the Pistons. Meanwhile, The Los Angeles Lakers look good to extend their unbeaten run to six.

Alan Iverson did not have the dream start he had hoped for on Friday when the New Jersey Nets beat the Detroit Pistons 103-96. The Pistons came out of the traps quickly to lead by 13 points at the end of the first quarter but saw that lead slowly evaporate by the end of the third and came up short in a tense finish. Iverson scored 24 points and played as if he had been a Piston for years.

As I have said before, it is a long season and I am sure the addition of Iverson will prove to be successful in the long run.

Chauncey Billups and the Denver Nuggets did have a dream start beating the Dallas Mavericks 108-105. It was all smiles in Colorado as he showed why this trade was made by playing a very solid game, scoring 15 points on his debut. The Nuggets made it two in a row Sunday night beating Memphis 100-90 and, like Iverson, Billups has made a quick transition to his new surroundings and will pay his way this year.

After the defeat of Detroit, only two unbeaten teams remain, with Atlanta in the East and Los Angeles in the West. The Lakers, who travel to Dallas on Tuesday night, are making a big statement in the Western Conference. The Lakers are in a very determined and focused mood at present and there is plenty of money to be had following a quality team on a streak, Kobe Bryant is not the only person scoring at the moment and Pau Gasol is laying his body down when it matters in the paint and scored 20 points against Houston on Sunday.

Dallas come in to Tuesday night's game after a shocking performance against the lowly Los Angeles Clippers losing 103-92 and the pressure will really be on them in this home game. The Lakers are trading at [1.67] in the outright market which appears reasonable considering how poorly Dallas are playing at the moment.

The Atlanta Hawks travel to Chicago also on Tuesday night to try to maintain their unbeaten record but I think the Bulls will give them plenty to think about in this one. If there has been one team that does not deserve to be 3-4 it is Chicago. They have played Cleveland pretty hard a couple of times and once again went down fighting to LeBron James and co 106-97 on Saturday night.

Atlanta are unbeaten but they have had a pretty easy schedule so far in playing teams like Oklahoma and Toronto so the record of 5-0 may be a little misleading. I think rookie sensation Derrick Rose and the rest of this young team will take care of the Hawks and hand them the first loss of the season. Chicago are trading at [1.8] in the outright market at present but I think they will cover the -2.5 handicap so I would recommend that strategy for a little more value.

Recommendations:

Tuesday Los Angeles back at around 1.67
Chicago back -2.5 at around 2.0