It's Now or Never For Lakers

Tonight is one of the great guessing games in sports betting. Looking at the current line of Los Angeles -9, the sportsbooks are practically begging you to take Boston and so far the bettors are, as 63-percent of the money has come in on the Celtics. The "wise guys" will look at the line and the money coming in on Boston and be inclined to take Los Angeles.

What bettors must ask themselves is if this is a trap line. Are they being steered towards Boston for a reason or is the spread a legitimate number? Is the smart money, which is coming in on the Lakers, backing Kobe because the Lakers are a good bet or is the smart money coming in on L.A. because they are being steered towards the Lakers?

The over/under has climbed from 194.5 to 195.5 or 196, depending on which book you use and part of that, no doubt, is a reflection of the 108-102 score on Sunday. The Lakers tend to score more at home, but the Celtics score less away from Boston, so how much the line was influenced by that one game is difficult to tell.

Today's play on the main site is in the NBA game Free Sports Betting Picks located in the Sports Gambling 101 section of the site.

Photo: Ray Allen goes up for an easy two points in the NBA Finals against the Lakers (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)