Portland Trail Blazers vs. Los Angeles Lakers Prediction, NBA Odds

Nik Kowalski | Updated Jan 20, 2024

NBA: Brooklyn Nets at Los Angeles Lakers

The L.A. Lakers will try to improve their record to .500 on Sunday when they host the Portland Trail Blazers.

Portland
21-61
AT
January 21, 2024, 10:00 PM ET
Staples Center
L.A. Lakers
47-35
Pointspread +11.5 -105
Moneyline +450
Over / Under o +228.5
Pointspread -11.5 -115
Moneyline -650
Over / Under u +228.5

The Lakers are 7-13 since winning the NBA In-Season Tournament and remain in the West’s final play-in spot. After dropping to .500 on December 31, Los Angeles has had three opportunities to get back above that mark but have failed to each time.

The Lakers are now 21-22, winning twice this week against top-tier Western teams but going on to lose by 18 against a 17-24 Brooklyn squad on Friday. The 12-29 Trail Blazers have won two straight contests and with a Sunday they can tie their season-high win streak of three. Tip-off at Crypto.com Arena set for 10 p.m. ET, with the Lakers favoured to win on the NBA odds.

Trail Blazers vs. Lakers NBA Betting Odds

The Lakers are going for the season sweep of the Trail Blazers Sunday, after L.A. won on November 12 and 17. L.A.’s won five of their last six meetings hosting the Trail Blazers too. Nine of the last 13 Portland–Los Angeles clashes have finished under the total, and the under has the been the play all season when it comes to Lakers home games — hitting in 16 of their 24 at home so far.

Portland’s gone 5-17 straight up on the road this season and have a single victory in their last 11 road contests. They enter Sunday as the NBA’s lowest-scoring team (107.5 points per game) but have gone over 116 points in two of their last three appearances.

Portland Trail Blazers

The Trail Blazers have two straight wins and both came down to the wire. Wednesday versus Brooklyn, Anfernee Simons hit a floater with 0.2 seconds remaining to give Portland a 105-103 win. On Friday the Trail Blazers escaped with a 118-115 win over Indiana where they got 37 points from Jerami Grant, his second straight night with over 30 points.

Simons sat out Friday with an illness — one that he played through Wednesday — but should be ready to go against the Lakers. Centre DeAndre Ayton returned Friday after not being able to play Wednesday because of all the ice in Portland. Yes, you read that right. Ayton’s an important piece on this Portland roster too, averaging a double-double with 13 points and 10.6 rebounds per outing.

Los Angeles Lakers

L.A.’s week started out with two massive wins over Oklahoma City and Dallas, and Friday they got off to a strong start hosting Brooklyn. But that season-long inconsistency problem lingered back in and the Lakers got outscored 68-44 in the second half. L.A. committed 10 turnovers in that second half and shot 14 of 41 from the field, including four of 14 on three-pointers. Secondary contributors Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura combined to shoot zero for nine from the second half, and when the likes of these role players are off… so are the Lakers as a team.

With 24 points and 11 rebounds Friday, LeBron James posted his second double-double of the month. James has registered a minimum of 24 points in three straight contests.

NBA Prediction: Who Will Win Trail Blazers vs. Lakers?

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