Kings vs. Lakers Point Spread: NBA Odds, Prediction
-
Jeremy Perry
The Los Angeles Lakers have struggled without LeBron James in the lineup. They will need to figure things out without him if they are going to avoid a third straight loss to close out the weekend. The Lakers have not only lost two in a row, the last loss included them blowing a 10-point third quarter lead to the Los Angeles Clippers. Lakers head coach Luke Walton criticized his team’s performance and Lonzo Ball called for team unity.
NBA Point Spread and Betting Analysis
Sacramento has been a .500 team on the road this season with a 9-9 record. The Kings have been excellent against the spread (ATS) this year going 21-14, including a 10-8 record as the visiting team. They are also an impressive 6-0 SU and 5-1 ATS as the favorite.
Meanwhile, the Lakers are 15-20 against the spread this season. That includes a 7-10 ATS mark as the home team. Overall, they’ve now dropped six of their last nine. However, they are 9-3 ATS against teams with a winning record.
Sacramento Kings
The Kings won the last matchup between the teams 117-116 when the teams met last Thursday. The expectation is that they should be even better this time around without James in the lineup for the Lakers. Sacramento has been off resting since that win over Los Angeles, so it will have fresh legs for this matchup. For the Lakers, this will be their third game in four nights.
The Kings are also in position to climb four games above .500 for the first time since 2014, so the motivation will be there to win this game on the road. Thursday’s 15-point comeback against the Lakers was the third time Sacramento has come back from a deficit to win over the past two weeks. They’re confident right now and the Lakers seem to be in disarray.
Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers have looked like a complete mess with James out of the lineup. One night after blowing the lead against the Kings, L.A. did it again to the Clippers and lost by 11 points. Kyle Kuzma led the way with 24 points in the loss to their rivals. However, there weren’t enough other players that stepped up with James out of the lineup. Lonzo Ball had 19 points and six assists but he was just 7-of-16 from the field. Meanwhile, Brandon Ingram went 5-of-12 for 17 points. So much of what this team does funnels through LeBron as the leader of this unit. With James out again Sunday night, there is a good chance the Lakers will lose and fail to cover the small spread versus Sacramento.
