Sport: NBAPick Selection: Los Angeles Lakers -7 -110
San Antonio Spurs at Los Angeles Lakers 9:05 PM ET
Los Angeles Lakers -7 -110
**NBA TOP PLAY** Western Conference GOW I was on the more rested team on Tuesday with Detroit and I will follow that same pattern tonight. This time around it is obviously different as the Pistons were on the road while the Lakers are at home to start their series with San Antonio. Home court advantage has certainly been present during these playoffs and it appears that was the case during the regular season as well, as the Lakers and Spurs split four games with each winning at home with three of those decided by 12 or more points.
San Antonio is one tired team and in more ways than one. Not only did the Spurs play a full series against the Hornets, but they could not get out of New Orleans, forcing them to actually sleep on the plane. The team slept on the plane with mechanical problems before boarding another plane that was brought in from Minneapolis. The team took off about 6:30 a.m. Central time and landed in Los Angeles about four hours later. The well-rested Lakers already figured to be facing a travel-weary team.
The Lakers are certainly fresher and not just because of the five-day layoff. They have played the fewest games of any other survivor in this year's NBA Playoffs. Some say that rust will be an issue but I believe that any sort of rust is negated by the home court advantage. The Staples Center has been very kid to Los Angeles, where the Lakers are 6-0 in the postseason and winners of 12 straight overall including a 106-85 victory over the Spurs in their next-to-last game of the regular season.
This may seem like a big number but the Lakers are 14-5 ATS when laying between seven and 10 points this year. The Spurs have been dogs of this amount only once and that came in that final meeting with the Lakers where they lost by 21. Los Angeles is a perfect 6-0 ATS when playing with three or more days rest, winning those games by an average of 19.3 ppg. Also, the Lakers are 9-1 ATS L10 following a loss and the Spurs are 2-8 ATS when playing a team with a winning home record. Play Los Angeles Lakers 2.5 Units
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