Before making a World Cup betting pick on Germany, players should know that the Germans have a host of injuries to some pretty important members of the squad. The same situation is raising its head in the NBA’s Western Conference playoffs this year as Phoenix and the Los Angeles Lakers have a couple of injury worries that could have an effect on the series.
The Lakers have had a close eye on the status of Andrew Bynum’s knee, which has gotten worse throughout the playoffs. The young center averaged 15.0 points and 8.3 rebounds in 65 games, and he averaged 30.4 minutes during the regular season, but all of his numbers are down ahead of the Lakers’ Game 4 meeting with the Suns on Tuesday night in Phoenix as Bynum has put up 9.4 points and 7.8 boards in the playoffs, and his minutes have gone down to 24.8. Over the first three games of the Phoenix series, Bynum has 6.3 points and 4.3 boards in 15.0 minutes of play, and he was limited to only eight minutes in Game 3. The Lakers’ big advantage in this NBA betting matchup is their size, and even though they have enough with Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom, their job would be a lot easier if Bynum was at 100%.
World Cup Group D betting players will liken Germany losing captain Michael Ballack to Phoenix losing Steve Nash, but at least the Suns will get to go through the playoffs with their star. Nash had his nose broken when he collided with Derek Fisher in Game 3, and he will have surgery before Game 4. This is the second blow that Nash has suffered in this postseason as he was elbowed above the eye by San Antonio’s Tim Duncan in the last round, but Nash came back in that game to score 10 points in the fourth quarter of a win. Nash is the unquestioned leader of the Suns, and his loss to Phoenix would be far greater than that of Bynum and Los Angeles. The two-time MVP has averaged 16.8 points and 10.2 assists in the playoffs, and his ability to drive and dish opens up the floor for the rest of the Suns, especially for Amare Stoudamire. The power forward had 42 points in the Suns’ 118-109 win in Game 3, and a lot of those came off of running the pick-and-roll with Nash, something that the whole league has had trouble stopping all season. The Suns are already behind the eight-ball going against the defending NBA champions, but they have a great chance to tie the series at two games apiece on Tuesday night, and their online sports betting odds are much better with Nash in the lineup.