Two Tight Wins this Week Put the Lakers Over .500

The Lakers have been a rollercoaster ride this season, though one thing has remained consistent: the team has been seemingly unable to break the .500 barrier. However, they accomplished it this week with two close wins over the New Orleans Hornets (Pelicans, soon enough) and the Toronto Raptors.

On Wednesday, on the road in New Orleans, the Lake Show won a close 108-102 contest with the Hornets. It wasn’t easy for the Lakers; they had to overcome a 25-point deficit to defeat the lowly Hornets, and Kobe Bryant scored 42 points, 13 of which came in the Lakers 20-0 scoring run in the last seven minutes of regulation. Los Angeles was two-point favorites in the game, and while they covered, they certainly kept bettors sweating for the duration of the match. Here were some of the other betting trends between the two teams, per OddsShark.com:

Los Angeles Lakers Trends:
When playing on Wednesday are 3-7
Before playing Toronto are 5-5
After playing Oklahoma City are 5-5
After a loss are 7-3

 

New Orleans Hornets Trends:
When playing on Wednesday are 6-4
Before playing Memphis are 5-5
After playing Orlando are 4-6
After a loss are 4-6

 

A few Lakers at Hornets trends to consider:
LA Lakers are 5-0 SU in their last 5 games when playing New Orleans
LA Lakers are 7-1 SU in their last 8 games when playing on the road against New Orleans
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of the LA Lakers last 5 games when playing on the road against New Orleans
The total has gone OVER in 6 of the LA Lakers last 8 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of New Orleans’s last 5 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 7 of New Orleans’s last 8 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of New Orleans’s last 5 games when playing at home against LA Lakers
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of New Orleans’s last 6 games when playing LA Lakers

It was an equally close game against the Toronto Raptors on Friday night as the Lakers edged the Raptors 118-116 in overtime at home. Los Angeles got another titanic 41-point performance from Bryant, with solid contributions from Dwight Howard and Steve Nash to propel L.A. to a game above .500. The Lakers were seven point favorites in the game. Here were some of the other betting trends for both squads, courtesy of Oddshark.com:

Toronto Raptors Trends:
When playing on Friday are 3-7
Before playing Cleveland are 4-6
After playing Phoenix are 2-8
After a win are 4-6

 

Los Angeles Lakers Trends:
When playing on Friday are 6-4
Before playing Chicago are 6-4
After playing New Orleans are 6-4
After a win are 5-5

 

A few Raptors at Lakers trends to consider:
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Toronto’s last 10 games when playing LA Lakers
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Toronto’s last 7 games when playing on the road against LA Lakers
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Toronto’s last 10 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Toronto’s last 6 games on the road
LA Lakers are 5-0 SU in their last 5 games when playing at home against Toronto
The total has gone OVER in 9 of the LA Lakers last 10 games when playing Toronto
LA Lakers are 8-1 SU in their last 9 games at home
LA Lakers are 17-4 SU in their last 21 games when playing Toronto