Lakers Look to Restore Confidence with Big Road Trip | IXGAMES
You won’t find very many people sympathizing with the back-to-back champion Los Angeles Lakers when it comes to their midseason struggles this year, but this week, more than ever, the club has the opportunity to reverse the frightening new trend.
After a seven-game win streak at the beginning of January, the Lakers have looked uncharacteristically mortal, dropping five of their past 10 games, some, of course (like their Jan. 28 loss to the Sacramento Kings), more discouraging than others. Bet on the NBA with Bodog Sportsbook if you think LA can turn things around.
Currently in the midst of a seven-game road trip, the Lakers will have the opportunity to square off on the road with a number of competitive Eastern Conference contenders. It might not guarantee them a spot atop the Western Conference, but it could at least help make up for an embarrassing loss they suffered against the Boston Celtics last week.
This Thursday the Lakers will have the opportunity to take down the C’s in their second game against each other in less than two weeks. The long-standing history between the two teams is obvious, and the recent history perhaps even more so. The two clubs have fought in the NBA Finals in two of that past three years (2008 and 2010), with each team winning once. According to Bodog’s online sportsbook, the Lakers and Celtics each have 7/2 odds of winning the NBA championship.
If that wasn’t enough for the Lakers, they head to Madison Square Garden the very next day. The resurgent Knicks might not contend for a championship this year, but they’re competitive enough to make the game on the world’s greatest stage worth watching.
The Lakers close out the weekend on Sunday against Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic, the team they met in 2009 when the Celtics failed to win the Eastern Conference.
It won’t be easy, but a successful showing in this week’s slate of games could help get LA back to the top of the pile, perhaps not literally, but at least in the minds of basketball heads and bettors alike.