Lakers vs. Warriors Point Spread: NBA Odds, Prediction
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Jeremy Perry
The Los Angeles Lakers had a slow start to the season but had seemingly figured things out over the last month. However, they enter Tuesday’s affair having dropped four of six, including an ugly 107-99 home loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday night. Meanwhile, the Golden State Warriors are heating up as they’ve won eight of 10. The Lakers want to measure themselves up against the champs but they’ll have to play one of their best games of the season to make a game of this.
NBA Point Spread and Betting Analysis
The Lakers have not fared well in the underdog role this season as they are 16-10 SU as the favorite compared to 3-3 as the dog. They are now 10-15 ATS as the favorite and just 3-4-1 ATS as the dog.
The Warriors are now 18-4 in their last 22 games when at home with the total 230 or higher but they are just 9-12-1 ATS in those games. They are 14-3 at home this season but just 8-9 ATS.
Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers started the season just 2-5 but got it together by winning 13 of their next 17 games. Since then, though, they are just 5-5 in their last 10 and 2-4 in their last six. What’s of greater concern is that they are really struggling on the road. They’ve lost five of their last seven road games while giving up 115.3 points per game. Considering Golden State is seventh in points per game at home with 115.8, it could be a long night for the Lakers unless they figure out how to tighten things up on the defensive end.
Generally speaking, LeBron James plays pretty well on Christmas Day as he had been averaging 26.8 points per game heading into last season’s contest. However, he faced off with Golden State last year and they held him to 20 points on 7-of-18 shooting. James will need to approach his regular Christmas Day averages and get close to a triple-double for the Lakers to earn the win.
Golden State Warriors
The Warriors look like they’re finally back on track. With a healthy Steph Curry in the lineup and Kevin Durant and Draymond Green (somewhat) burying the hatchet, this team is playing their best ball of the season. They have won eight of 10 with the two losses coming to the Toronto Raptors, one of the top teams in the NBA, and on the road at Utah.
Very quietly, Green has been a key cog in the lineup as he is averaging 9.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 2.0 steals per game over his last five contests while making 4-of-9 from three. He was struggling in that realm earlier in the season. When he plays like that alongside two MVP’s –Durant has 29 or more in six of his last seven and Curry is averaging 30.2 points per game over his last five – the Warriors are too much to handle.
