Los Angeles Clippers vs. Los Angeles Lakers Prediction, NBA Odds
It’s a showdown at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Friday night with the Lakers set to host the Clippers. Both teams sit on the edge of the Western Conference playoff picture. The Lakers are coming in off a 106-101 home win over Utah on Feb. 16 before the All-Star break. The Clippers blew the doors off Houston, 142-111, in the same building the next night.
The Lakers are 1.5-point favourites to win on the NBA odds, with a total of 221.5.
Clippers vs. Lakers NBA Betting Odds
This is the third of four regular season meetings between the teams this year. The Clippers took the two previous games, winning 119-115 as the road team on Dec. 3 and 111-110 as the home team on Feb. 3. The season series closes out on March 3 when the Clippers will be considered the home team.
The Clippers come into this matchup with five straight wins in the head-to-head series and a 5-1 record against the spread in their last six games against the Lakers. They’re 30-31 ATS overall this year, covering in four of their last five games. The total has gone Over in seven of the Clippers’ last nine games.
The Lakers are riding a couple of contradictory trends. They’ve won eight of their last 11 home games, but lost seven of their last 10 overall. They’re a dismal 26-32 ATS for the season, but they’ve pulled out the cover in five of their last seven games. The total has gone Over in six of the Lakers’ last nine games.
Los Angeles Clippers
The Clippers shot 51.4 per cent (18 of 35) for 3-point range in a dismantling of the Rockets last time out. Seven different Los Angeles players scored in double figures, including Marcus Morris Sr., who had a game-high 27 points. Luke Kennard finished with 25 points, while Terance Mann added 20 points and eight rebounds. Kennard hit eight of nine 3-point shots against Houston, before falling in the final round of the 3-point contest during All-Star weekend.
Despite the big win over the Rockets, the Clippers are dealing with some serious offensive issues. Los Angeles is 23rd in NBA scoring, averaging 106.9 points per game, and things aren’t expected to get much better as Paul George (elbow), Kawhi Leonard (knee) and Norman Powell (toe) are all out indefinitely. The highest scoring player left on the roster is Reggie Jackson, who averages 16.6 ppg.
Los Angeles Lakers
LeBron James once again came up clutch for the Lakers against Utah, scoring 15 of his team-high 33 points in the fourth quarter. L.A. trailed by as much as 14 points in the second half and 12 points in the fourth quarter. James has now scored 25 or more points in a career-best 23 straight games and his 29.1 ppg average for the season is third-best in the NBA. Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook finished the game with 17 points each. Davis, who has already missed 21 games due to injury this season, left the Utah game in the second quarter with a right ankle sprain and is expected to be out for at least the next four weeks. He’s second on the Lakers with 23.1 ppg and he averages a team-high 9.7 rebounds.
The Lakers are also dealing with the losses of Carmelo Anthony (right hamstring strain), Avery Bradley (right knee swelling) and Kendrick Nunn (right knee bone bruise). Anthony is listed as probable to return on Friday after missing the last five games, while Bradley will miss his second straight contest. Nunn has been sidelined all year and has reportedly suffered multiple setbacks in his recovery. The earliest he is expected to make his Lakers debut is the end of March.
LAC
LAL