The Los Angeles Lakers have generally been stumbling in multiple weeks of play without LeBron James, but they might have just found a stabilizing moment in their rocky season. They have won two in a row and are aiming for a third straight win – something that hasn’t happened since Dec. 5. On Saturday, they’ll visit the Houston Rockets, who have alternated wins and losses in eight straight games and are coming off a loss.

NBA Point Spread and Betting Analysis

The Lakers, entering this game, are 25-11 straight up and 19-25 against the spread (ATS). They are are 5-1 ATS in their last six road games versus an opponent with a home winning percentage over 60 percent, which the Rockets have, so that’s a good sign.

The Rockets are 25-19 straight up and 22-21 against the spread heading into this game. Houston is 16-7 overall and 14-8 ATS at home but have been even better at the Toyota Center. They are 11-2-1 ATS in their last 14 home games, so the home-court advantage is notable with them. They have also done a good job of rebounding recently as they have covered five straight after a straight-up loss.

Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers are still without LeBron James, but they overcame a 17-point deficit to win on the road at Oklahoma City on Thursday. Rajon Rondo is also out of the lineup for the Lakers, whose best primary ballhandlers are out. Given that Houston is being forced to use a small-ball lineup with center Clint Capela injured, this doesn’t bode well for the Lakers’ chances on the road in Houston, with LeBron still waiting to return to sufficient health and rejoin the team on the court.

The Lakers are a bizarre team right now as they swing from being on the brink of firing head coach Luke Walton and discussing trading pieces to notching impressive wins – like they did at Oklahoma City – and deciding to keep it all together.

This team is not typically great on the road as they’ve dropped four of six away from home. Offence is a real issue these days. While they dropped 138 in the overtime win at Oklahoma City, they had averaged just 100.5 points per game in the six contests prior. That won’t cut it against the high-flying Rockets.

Houston Rockets

The Rockets got 58 points from James Harden on Wednesday and still could not win at home against the Brooklyn Nets. Brooklyn has quietly been one of the bigger surprises in the NBA this season – not by dominating, but by playing near the .500 mark instead of residing in the basement – so it’s not that big of an upset. Still, most would expect the Rockets to take care of business. They’ve had a lot of that lately. They had won 11 of 12 but haven’t been able to chain together wins since.

James Harden is playing at an MVP level right now, averaging 35.4 points per game and racking up several triple-doubles with at least 30 points scored in the past few weeks. Nothing and no one can seem to slow him down and that shouldn’t change against the Lakers. The challenge is that the Rockets are missing a number of key players. Chris Paul has been out for a while and now Capela will be sidelined for a while too. The Rockets don’t have a lot of depth these days and it’s showing.

Injuries

L.A. Lakers

Lance Stephenson (SG)

Ques Tues Foot - 09 / 04 / 19

Rajon Rondo (PG)

Out Tues Rest - 08 / 04 / 19

Tyson Chandler (C)

Out Tues Rest - 08 / 04 / 19

Reggie Bullock (SG)

Ques Tues Neck - 04 / 04 / 19

Reggie Bullock (SG)

Prob Tues Foot - 01 / 04 / 19

Tyson Chandler (C)

Ques Tues Flu - 26 / 03 / 19

Reggie Bullock (SG)

Prob Sun Foot - 24 / 03 / 19

Mike Muscala (PF)

Prob Fri Ankle - 22 / 03 / 19

Josh Hart (SG)

out for season Knee - 21 / 03 / 19

Josh Hart (SG)

Prob Tues Knee - 18 / 03 / 19

Houston

Kenneth Faried (PF)

Ques Fri Personal - 08 / 05 / 19

Danuel House Jr. (SF)

Ques Fri Toe - 05 / 05 / 19

Austin Rivers (PG)

Prob Tues Illness - 28 / 04 / 19

Clint Capela (C)

Prob Wed Illness - 23 / 04 / 19

Clint Capela (C)

Prob Sun Illness - 12 / 04 / 19

Danuel House Jr. (SF)

Prob Sun Knee - 07 / 04 / 19

Iman Shumpert (SG)

Out Wed Rest - 03 / 04 / 19

Eric Gordon (SG)

Prob Thurs Ankle - 27 / 03 / 19

Kenneth Faried (PF)

Prob Tues Knee - 26 / 03 / 19

Eric Gordon (SG)

Prob Tues Ankle - 25 / 03 / 19

Injuries

L.A. Lakers

player (position)	status		ats*current	o/u*	notes
Lance Stephenson (SG)	Ques Tues	Foot - 09 / 04 / 19	1-0	1-0	+ -
Stephenson is battling a sore left foot and it is unclear if he will play against the Trail Blazers on Tuesday.
Rajon Rondo (PG)	Out Tues	Rest - 08 / 04 / 19	2-0	2-0	+ -
Rondo will not participate in Tuesday's game against the Trail Blazers as he is to be rested.
Tyson Chandler (C)	Out Tues	Rest - 08 / 04 / 19	2-0	2-0	+ -
Chandler will not play against the Trail Blazers on Tuesday due to a day of rest.
Reggie Bullock (SG)	Ques Tues	Neck - 04 / 04 / 19	2-2	2-2	+ -
Bullock has missed the previous three games with neck stiffness and has an unclear status Tuesday against the Trail Blazers.
Reggie Bullock (SG)	Prob Tues	Foot - 01 / 04 / 19	3-2	3-2	+ -
Bullock is expected to suit up against the Thunder on Tuesday despite a plantar fasciitis in his right foot.
Tyson Chandler (C)	Ques Tues	Flu - 26 / 03 / 19	7-2	4-5	+ -
Chandler has been idle due to flu-like symptoms and it is unclear if he will return against the Trail Blazers on Tuesday.
Reggie Bullock (SG)	Prob Sun	Foot - 24 / 03 / 19	7-3	4-6	+ -
Bullock has been held out of the previous four games with plantar fasciitis in his right foot but is expected to be available for Sunday's game against the Pelicans.
Mike Muscala (PF)	Prob Fri	Ankle - 22 / 03 / 19	7-4	4-7	+ -
Muscala has missed the past four games due to tibialis posterior tendonitis in his right ankle but is likely to return Friday against the Hornets.
Josh Hart (SG)	out for season	Knee - 21 / 03 / 19	7-4	4-7	+ -
Hart is recovering from a procedure on his right patellar tendon. He will miss the remainder of the 2018-19 season.
Josh Hart (SG)	Prob Tues	Knee - 18 / 03 / 19	7-5	5-7	+ -
Hart is battling right knee tendinitis but is projected to face the Bucks on Tuesday.

Houston

player (position)	status		ats*current	o/u*	notes
Kenneth Faried (PF)	Ques Fri	Personal - 08 / 05 / 19	2-0	0-1-1	+ -
Faried is tending to a personal matter and it is unclear if he will play against the Warriors in Game 6 of the Western Conference second round.
Danuel House Jr. (SF)	Ques Fri	Toe - 05 / 05 / 19	3-1	2-1-1	+ -
House Jr. has inflammation in his right toe and it is unknown if he will be available for Game 6 of the Western Conference second round versus the Warriors.
Austin Rivers (PG)	Prob Tues	Illness - 28 / 04 / 19	4-2	2-3-1	+ -
Rivers is ailing from an illness but the symptoms are expected to subside in time for Game 2 of the Western Conference second round against the Warriors.
Clint Capela (C)	Prob Wed	Illness - 23 / 04 / 19	5-3	2-5-1	+ -
Capela is ailing from adenovirus and a klebsiella infection but is likely to play against the Jazz in Game 5 of the Western Conference first round.
Clint Capela (C)	Prob Sun	Illness - 12 / 04 / 19	7-4	3-7-1	+ -
Capela is battling an illness but is expected to suit up against the Jazz in Game 1 of the Western Conference first round.
Danuel House Jr. (SF)	Prob Sun	Knee - 07 / 04 / 19	9-4	4-7-2	+ -
House Jr. is likely to play against the Suns on Sunday despite a left knee contusion.
Iman Shumpert (SG)	Out Wed	Rest - 03 / 04 / 19	12-4	6-8-2	+ -
Shumpert will not play Wednesday against the Clippers as he will be given the night off to rest.
Eric Gordon (SG)	Prob Thurs	Ankle - 27 / 03 / 19	13-5	6-10-2	+ -
Gordon is expected to play Thursday against the Nuggets despite a right ankle sprain.
Kenneth Faried (PF)	Prob Tues	Knee - 26 / 03 / 19	14-5	6-11-2	+ -
Faried is sidelined due to left knee soreness but is likely to return against the Kings on Tuesday.
Eric Gordon (SG)	Prob Tues	Ankle - 25 / 03 / 19	14-5	6-11-2	+ -
Gordon is battling a sprained right ankle but it is likely he will play Tuesday against the Bucks.

Lakers vs. Rockets Prediction