In the 2008 semi-finals round of the Western Conference Playoffs, no team has been able to take the intensity with which they play at home, and carry it over on the road. LA is coming off a game 5 win at home over the Jazz, and they have to be feeling pretty god about their chances. Thus, now all the pressure has shifted over to Utah, as they must protect their home court (one last time in this series) if they want to avoid “going fishing” with Ernie, Kenny and Charles. My NBA Prediction will show, 3 big reasons why the Los Angeles Lakers will do seemingly the impossible in game 6 at Utah. Sportsbetting.com has the home team Utah Jazz a - 4 point favorite against the Los Angeles Lakers + 4 in game 6 and the O/U has been set at a 213 combined total points. 

The team that has gotten the closest to winning a road game in the West, has been the Los Angeles Lakers. As a matter of fact, if Kobe Bryant wouldn’t have tweaked his back in game 4 in Utah, guaranteed the Jazz would have been eliminated by now. Kobe would have closed out that game (in the overtime session), if his mobility wasn’t as limited as it was, at the end of the game.

Furthermore, the fact that the Lakers came very close to beating the Jazz in game 4 in Utah, has to be lingering in the back of the player’s heads.

The Lakers know how to play on the road.

They are so far the only team yet to get blown out in a road game, for the entirety of these 2008 playoffs.

Here’s yet another reason why LA wins game 6 (or looses by less than the projected line):

LA was able to go into Utah (towards the end of the regular season), when the Jazz were playing their best at home, and they absolutely beat their brains out (from beginning to end). When the Lakers arrived, Utah had an incredible 19-consecutive winning streak at Energy Solutions Arena, and Kobe, Fish, and the supporting cast, snapped it, like a stick of celery.

Look for Lamar Odom to have just a monster of a game 6. The Jazz simply hve no cover for Odom, Carlos Booser is too slow, and AK47 will likely be on KB24. 

Also look for F Radmanovic to have an impact in game 6 as well. All season long, the 3-point shooting "Rad" has been a way better road player for LA. Also in game 5, he showed some confidence in his stroke (scoring 10 points in the first quarter).

And last but not least, LA has the ultimate weapon… the ultimate assassin in MVP Kobe Bryant. You can bet that “The Black Mamba” can smell and taste the blood, and he would like nothing more, than to eliminate (the team that booed his good friend and teammate Derek Fisher) the Jazz, in front of their own people.

This game will be very close at the end, it may even go into another overtime session once again.  

NBA Playoffs Prediction: LAL + 4

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