Back the Lakers for a winning Christmas
Best Bet 
/ Nick Tedeschi / 24 December 2009 / Leave a comment Bet Now View Market
Once you've put away the socks and undies you've had for Christmas and blown the froth off a few coldies on Christmas Day, you can get stuck into the Best Bet of the holiday period, writes Nick Tedeschi.
And what a sporting highlight it should be, too, the clash between the LA Lakers and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
It has all the makings of a classic - Shaquille O'Neal on the drive for a fifth NBA title, coming up against the team that made him a star and the player, Kobe Bryant, with whom he used to dominate the league.
Not to mention the King, LeBron James, who has helped the Cavaliers to first place in the Central Division and a 21-8 record thanks to his 28.7 points per game average.
However, while that may be a fine record, I'm staking a confident bet that it won't be improved by the visit to the Staples Center, as the Lakers are this week's Best Bet.
Only two teams have won on the Lakers' court this season - the other 16 have gone away with nothing.
Bryant continues to dazzle
The Lakers head into this one on the back of five straight victories, the most recent a 111-108 win over Oklahoma City which featured a 40-point night from Bryant.
Bryant is second in the league in scoring averages, with 29.3, and third in steals, with a 2.19 average, and was MVP in the 2009 NBA finals. Clearly he has lost none of his appetite or skill, and regardless of their point production from the likes of O'Neal and James, the Cavs still have to find a way to solve Kobe.
And will Shaq have much of an impact anyway? Not according to the past record, which has seen him and Kobe have eight head-to-head meetings where Bryant averages 34.8 points and O'Neal just 20.
The Lakers have won four of their last five games in which O'Neal has played, and they are 8-2 all-time against the Cavaliers at Staples Center, so plenty of reasons for them to feel good about the Christmas Day matchup.
Los Angeles swept last season's series 2-0, and they hold a 57-38 adfvantage over their 95 meetings. And coach Phil Jackson has a good record against the Cavs, winning 12 of 18 against them.
James loves playing the Lakers
This particular matchup has in the past seen the best of James, who in two of his last five meetings with the Lakers has set new team scoring records in that matchup, including the 41 point return in January 2008.
But if you're looking for a star - and not the one on top of the Christmas tree - then look no further than Kobe, who has just won his 26th award as the NBA's player of the week, tying Michael Jordan for most all-time.
He has scored 40-plus points 102 times in his career, including six times this season. And with Pau Gasol cleaning up off the boards - with 126 rebounds over his last eight games - the Lakers have a potent offense that will be too much for the Cavs to cope with.
Enjoy your Christmas, and trust the Lakers!
