Los Angeles Lakers vs Los Angeles Clippers Betting Picks, Predictions, Odds & Lines
The Battle of LA takes place on Thursday night as the Clippers take on the Lakers at the Staples Center. Both teams are coming into the game after snapping 3-game losing streaks. The Lakers won against Denver on Monday for only their third win in the last 10 games.
They’re now dangerously close to play-in as the Blazers are only a half-game at the 7th spot in the West. Overall, the Lakers are now 27-28 straight-up and 29-35-1 against the spread. Their LA rival, the Clippers are tied for 4th place in the West with the Nuggets. They are back to winning ways after beating Toronto on Tuesday and are 11-4 in the last 15 games. Their season record stands at 44-22. Against the spread, the Clippers are 36-29-1. The two teams met twice this season already. Both matchups ended up with the Clippers’ win.
Los Angeles Lakers vs Los Angeles Clippers BettingOdds & Line Movement
With LeBron confirmed out, the Clippers are convincing favorites for this one. The line opened at -7 and has moved to -8 where it stands at the moment. The total is set at 211.5 with most online bookies.
Notes On The Los Angeles Lakers
For the whole second half of the season, the Lakers have been hindered with injuries. It’s the main reason why they now find themselves holding on to the last direct playoff spot in the West. AD is finally in the lineup and LeBron has been back for a couple of games, but it didn’t change their fortunes much. They lost both games with LBJ, against the Kings and the Raptors. However, they managed to keep up their defensive rating throughout all the injury issues and are still the top defensive team in the league. On offense, they struggled ever since James went down. The average only 105.0 points without him in the lineup compared to 111.7 with LeBron healthy. Last time out, they managed to get a valuable win against another injury-depleted team, the Nuggets. The Lakers won 93-89 in one of the lowest-scoring games of the season. AD led the way with 25 points and 7 rebounds.
As we said, LeBron is out as is Dennis Schroder. Davis is nursing a calf injury but is probable for the Thursday matchup. Kuzma and KCP are also probable while Horton-Tucker is listed as questionable.
Notes On The Los Angeles Clippers
The Clippers have quietly been one of the most consistent teams this season, despite Leonard and George missing 18 and 16 games, respectively. They are near the top of the league in both defense and offense and have been the best shooting team in the NBA. They rank first in both 3-point and FT percentages. On Tuesday, they beat the Raptors to snap the 3-game losing steak and stay ahead of Denver at 3rd place in the West. Paul George led the scoring with 22 points and had 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Morris added 22 points while Jackson scored 18. Kahwi is slowly working his way back into full shape and has scored 13 on only 6 shots.
The only meaningful absentee for the Clippers is Serge Ibaka who’s still out due to a back injury.
Los Angeles Lakers vs Los Angeles Clippers Betting Pick & Prediction: UNDER 211.5
The Lakers seem to raise their defensive intensity even higher in LeBron’s absence. Last time out, they kept Denver to only 89 points. The Clippers, on the other hand, have also been leaning UNDER lately. Their last 6 games have all gone UNDER. The previous matchup between the two has ended with only 190 points combined.
