76ers vs. Lakers Point Spread: NBA Odds, Prediction
One of the marquee matchups of the NBA regular season on Tuesday night, Philadelphia at the Los Angeles Lakers loses luster because LeBron James is expected to sit again.
There’s no question that the biggest star in the NBA is the Lakers’ LeBron James. He was the leading vote-getter for the All-Star Game yet again and as captain of the West will “draft” his roster on Feb. 7. Assuming James plays in the Feb. 17 game it would be his 15th All-Star Game start, tying former Lakers legend Kobe Bryant for the most in NBA history. That’s if LeBron is healthy by then as he’s expected to sit yet again Tuesday night with the Philadelphia 76ers in Los Angeles due to the groin injury James suffered on Christmas.
NBA Point Spread and Betting Analysis
Among millennials, the NBA’s biggest star/personality might be 76ers centre Joel Embiid because he’s just 24, an amazing talent and very active & popular on social media. He once basically asked out Rihanna on Twitter (hey, who hasn’t?). Embiid also was named an All-Star starter and thus could be on James’ team in Charlotte on Feb. 17.
It’s the first meeting of the season between the Sixers and Lakers. They split last year, each winning on the road – obviously a very different Lakers team. Embiid totally dominated the Lakers in those games, averaging 39.5 points, 11.0 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 6.0 blocks. Those are just stupid numbers.
Philadelphia is 7-2 ATS in its past nine at the Lakers.
Philadelphia 76ers
Philadelphia started a four-game trip through the Western Conference with a 126-110 loss in Denver on Saturday. No shame in losing there as most teams do. Plus, Philly gave Embiid the night off, robbing fans of a terrific matchup against Nikola Jokic – those are probably the two best centres in the NBA. Embiid should play here. He is the first 76er with 40 double-doubles in a season since Clarence Weatherspoon had 46 in 1993-94. Jimmy Butler (sprained wrist) and Wilson Chandler (hamstring) also sat.
Butler has missed the past three and saw a specialist for his injury last weekend. Reports are that Butler will give it a go Tuesday, though. Philadelphia is 12-5 vs. the West this season, the best mark among East teams. The Sixers are 10-4 ATS in their past 14 after a loss.
Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers again were without LeBron as well as Lonzo Ball (ankle, sidelined 4-6 weeks) on Sunday, and Kyle Kuzma (hip) and Tyson Chandler (rest) joined them on the bench but L.A. was able to win at atrocious Phoenix 116-102 to end a three-game losing streak. It was the team’s first win this season without both James and Ball.
Ivica Zubac and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope each scored 24 points and Brandon Ingram added 22. Josh Hart asked out of the game in second half with his knee tendinitis acting up and he might sit here. It would be an upset if James played but it’s not impossible. For purposes of this pick, we will assume he’s not playing. The Lakers have covered just five of their past 21 vs. the East.
