[tinfw17]

Top of the Ticket - Bulls/Lakers

UNDER 195,LOS ANGELES LAKERS -vs-Chicago Bulls

4* #706 L.A. LAKERS/CHICAGO Under

The return of Pau Gasol is being treated much differently by the betting markets than the oddsmakers ? we have seen an opening Total of 190 climb all the way to 195. And that brings excellent value for our purposes. Are the Lakers a better offensive team with Gasol on board? Of course. But they are also much better defensively, especially with Phil Jackson opting to go with him at the #4 spot tonight, leaving Andrew Bynum at #5 and creating a ?Twin Towers? presence inside. With those two protecting the basket, and Kobe Bryant and Ron Artest aggressive on the perimeter, this can become one of the best defenses in the NBA once they get a chance to jell. It is also a defense that will cause huge headaches for the Bulls, who are 27th on our best offensive charts through 10 games, and who will see Luol Deng locked up by Artest and John Salmons by Bryant, leaving Derrick Rose with nowhere to go with the ball. Chicago is defending tenaciously, however. They are all the way up to #3 on our best charts and when you consider that they have already faced the Celtics, Cavaliers, Spurs (with all hands on deck), Nuggets and Heat the numbers have a legitimacy. In addition to those playoff-bound opponents they also played Toronto, which rates #1 on offense so far this season. They bring an excellent work ethic on that end of the court, and it helps having good wingspans at every position in the starting lineup. They will struggle to score tonight, but will also make the Lakers work hard for everything they can get, and in what is a well-positioned road game (this will only be the second game in five nights, and they are off tomorrow) their tenacity helps to set a sluggish flow to this one.

[Scorpion]

i like this play
it makes sense

[bookie]

Thanks for posting.