Dwayne Bryant | NBA
free pick710 LAL vs 709 UTA
Analysis:
5-point NBA Teaser



#710 Lakers -6.5 (3:05 pm ET on ABC) to

#712 Orlando -4.5 (5:35 pm ET on TNT)



Both Laker wins at home in this series this season have come by 13 points. LA averaged 119 points in those games. LA's last postseason game was a blowout loss at Boston in last year's Finals, so you know Kobe and the gang will want to start strong. The Jazz will definitely miss center Mehmet Okur in this one.



Both Philly and Orlando limped to the finish line, but I expect the Magic to use their last-game blowout of Charlotte to keep the momentum going against the struggling Sixers.



The Sixers enter the playoffs having just ended their six-game losing streak with a shaky overtime win against a Cleveland team that rested LeBron James and most of its starters. The skid has sapped Philadelphia's confidence. "I can't pinpoint it, but we just lost it mentally," Sixers guard Andre Miller said.



Getting back their groove against Howard and the Magic won't be easy. One of the league's most dominant centers, Howard's inside muscle is surrounded with free-shooting perimeter players. That formula presents a major matchup dilemma for any team, but has particularly given fits to the Sixers, who have lost all three games against the Magic this season.



I'll take the Lakers and Orlando in a 5-point Teaser for a half-unit