Vegas odds for this afternoon’s Portland Trail Blazers @ Los Angeles Lakers NBA showdown(3:3o PM EST ABC) are now posted on NSAwins.com and vegas oddsmakers have listed the Lakers a -3 point favorite with the total set at over/under 186.5. The Lakers(56-23) will be playing without superstar Kobe Bryant for the 2nd straight game and will most likely play the last three regular season games without him having already clinched the #1 seed in the Western Conference playoffs. The Lakers have lost five of their last eight games, including a 98-96 loss at Denver without Bryant on thursday. The Lakers will also be without center Andrew Bynum this afternoon, as the 22-year-old 7-footer has sat out the last 10 games with a strained left Achilles’ tendon and is not expected to return until the playoffs. The Trail Blazers(48-31) can still end up as high as fifth but most likely will finish as the sixth, seventh or eighth seed in the West. They had a great oppurtunity to pull into a tie with Oklahoma City for the sixth spot Friday night but dropped a 83-77 game at home to the Mavericks in a heated affair that that saw three Blazers players draw technical fouls and several fans escorted from their courtide seats. “I said (to my players), ‘This is what we’re going to be facing (in the playoffs),’” Portland coach Nate McMillan told the NBA’s official Web site. “You’re going to be facing this type of intensity, where every call is going to be questioned. You have to stay calm on that floor and be able to get to the next possession.” The Lakers had lost nine games in a row to the Blazers at the Rose Garden before a 99-82 win Feb. 6, but have won five in a row at home at the Staples Center by an average of 13.0 points versus Portland. NSAwins.com’s expert handicapper Lou Panelli likes Portland as a +3 point underdog this afternoon against a shorthanded Lakers team. You can bet on all of today’s NBA Betting Odds at SportsInteraction Sportsbook and get a 100% MATCH BONUS($116 FREE on a $116 deposit) on your first deposit!
