By Kevin Taylor

Sports wagering on game one of the 2009 NBA Finals begins tonight in Los Angeles at the Staples Center. Kobe Bryant and the Lakers are set to host Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic at 9:05 PM EST. Los Angeles returns to the NBA Finals for the second consecutive year and 30th time in franchise history while the Magic head to the Finals for the second time in their history. SBG Global reports that early the NBA wagering action sees the public taking the Lakers at home as a 6-point favorite with a 206 over/under.

The matchup between the Magic and Lakers should be a good one as Orlando has the dominating presence of Howard while the Lakers have Kobe. The Lakers will try and control Howard with three big men, Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom. He’s a unique kind of player," Pau Gasol said about Howard, "I don’t think there have been many players like him because of his physical gifts and attributes." Howard averaged 21.5 points, 16 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots in the two regular season games against the Lakers, both Orlando wins.

The Lakers main weakness is handling a point guard who is quick. Unless Jameer Nelson makes a surprise appearance, the Magic don’t have a guard that can give the Lakers trouble as Rafer Alston does not have the speed to cause Los Angeles trouble. On the other side, Orlando has no player that can stop Kobe. In the two regular season meetings, Kobe averaged 34.5 points per game.

Orlando lives and dies with three-point shooting and they could be in trouble against the Lakers who had the third-lowest opponents’ three-point field goal percentage in the regular season (34.5%), and the second-lowest in the postseason (31.3%).

Check out the NBA wagering odds stats for tonight’s game. The Magic are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games overall. The Magic are 19-7-1 ATS in their last 27 vs. the Pacific. The Magic are 17-7 ATS in their last 24 games as a road underdog. The Magic are 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings against the Lakers. The Lakers are 2-10 ATS in their last 12 vs. the Southeast. The Lakers are 1-10-1 ATS in their last 12 NBA Championship games. The Over is 4-0 in Orlando’s last 4 games as an underdog. The Over is 5-1 in Orlando’s last 6 overall. The Under is 5-0 in the Lakers last 5 games as a home favorite. The Under is 8-2 in the Lakers last 10 overall. The Under is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings in Los Angeles between the two teams.

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The Los Angeles Lakers will look to continue their recent domination of the Washington Wizards as the two teams meet in Los Angeles on Thursday.  The Lakers have already beaten the Wizards once this season and they swept last season’s series 2-0.  In the last 30 years the Lakers have only lost two season series to the Wizards.  The Lakers are 6-4 straight up in the last 10 meetings against Washington but have won the last four.  The Lakers defeated the Wizards 106-104 at Washington in December but did not cover the spread. SBG Global reports that early NBA wagering odds show the public taking the hometown favorite Los Angeles Lakers.

NBA Wagering Odds Preview Washington Wizards at Los Angeles Lakers Thursday, 10:35 pm Eastern – TNT SBG Global Opening Wagering Odds: Lakers  -14, Total 208

At STAPLES Center, the Lakers are 7-2 all-time against the Wizards. Under head coach Phil Jackson, Los Angeles is 13-4 against Washington. In 21 career games against the Wizards, Kobe Bryant is averaging 25.8 points per game.

Here are the NBA betting stats for Thursday’s game. The Wizards are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 vs. the Pacific. The Wizards are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games as a road underdog. The Wizards are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games overall. The Wizards are 5-12 ATS in the last 17 meetings between the two teams. The underdog is 5-1 ATS in the last 6 meetings and the road team is 5-1 ATS in the last 6 meetings.

The Lakers are 7-2 ATS in their last 9 Thursday games. The Lakers are 16-7 ATS in their last 23 games playing on no rest. The Lakers are 6-15 ATS in their last 21 games as a favorite. The Lakers are 6-20 ATS in their last 26 vs. the Eastern Conference. The Lakers are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games as a home favorite. The Lakers are 0-7 ATS in their last 7 vs. the Southeast.

SBG Global Current Wagering Odds: Lakers -14, Total  208

The Under is 6-1 in the Wizards last 7 vs. the Western Conference. The Under is 10-2 in the Wizards last 12 games as an underdog. The Under is 9-2 in the Wizards last 11 road games. The Under is 4-1-1 in the Wizards last 6 overall. The Over is 21-7 in the Wizards last 28 vs. the Pacific. The Under is 14-3 in the Lakers last 17 Thursday games. The Over is 16-7 in the Lakers last 23 games as a home favorite. The Under is 11-5 in the Lakers last 16 vs. the Southeast. The Over is 6-1 in the last 7 meetings in Los Angeles between the two teams.