Golden State Warriors vs. Los Angeles Lakers Prediction, NBA Odds

Edgar Chaput | Updated Mar 04, 2023

NBA: New Orleans Pelicans at Golden State Warriors

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The Golden State Warriors continue their push upwards in the Western Conference standings on Sunday afternoon when they head to Los Angeles to play the Lakers.

Golden State
44-38
AT
March 05, 2023, 3:30 PM ET
Staples Center
L.A. Lakers
43-39
Odds
Odds

Both squads played at home on Friday night. The Dubs accomplished what they’ve done so often this campaign: defend home court. LA, on the other hand, let a critical game against Minnesota slip through their fingers.

Check the NBA odds as they develop.

Warriors vs. Lakers NBA Betting Odds

It speaks to the sort of campaign both clubs are having that, contrary to what one would have predicted at the start of the season, it’s the Lakers who lead the season series 2-1 through three games. LA even surprised the Warriors with a win at Chase Center less than a month ago. Less than two weeks after that the Lakers handled business in LA. It is, however, fair to point out that those wins happened just before the Warriors began to rediscover their groove.

The Warriors could very well be looking forward to this game in particular. Not only do they need more wins to keep pace with the considerably improved Phoenix Suns, but the Lakers were also the last team to defeat them prior to the five-game successful run. All five games translated to covered spreads, improving their record to 31-32-1. Moreover, the team has slightly improved its defence. They rank 23rd, which is far from great, but they’ve run a tighter ship in recent weeks.

Los Angeles has fallen in two of their three most recent games, but are still 4-2 since returning from the All-Star break. The mild praise given to Golden State’s defensive improvement cannot be shared with LA. They’ve languished deep in the bottom 10 pretty much all season and currently sit 25th. Of note, the last time a final score result and spread result did not match was over a month ago on Feb. 2 when they defeated the Pacers but not enough to cover.

Golden State Warriors

Steve Kerr’s men completed a five-game home sweep with a hard-fought 108-99 win over the New Orleans Pelicans Friday. Give the Louisiana-based ensemble credit. They came out firing on all cylinders, opening the contest with a 35-21 first-quarter lead.

But these are the Warriors. Number one, they win most of their home games. Number two, they’ve trailed by boatloads of points at home plenty of times and still won. The way the hosts climbed their way back into the game was contrary to what most would have expected. Rather than fire away like mad from beyond the arc, Golden State cut through the defence often towards the net, outscoring New Orleans 52-36 in the paint. 18 turnovers helped create more than enough fast break points to stutter the Pelican offence too. Seeing Klay Thompson lead the way with 27 points is to be expected. Three subs tallied at least 10 points each: Anthony Lamb (11) Jamychal Green (14), and Jonathan Kuminga (19).

Los Angeles Lakers

The Minnesota Timberwolves were always going to provide a stern test to the Lakers’ resolve, especially in the absence of leader LeBron James, who is expected to be out another few weeks. LA is just outside a play-in spot and Minnesota just barely hanging on to one.

It was a contest that played out as one would expect between imperfect sides fighting for playoff seeding. Three of the four quarters were decided by two points or less. Only the third was slightly more decisive, and even that only ended six points in favour of the visitors. Anthony Davis did everything he could do help his side, tallying 38 points, but without LeBron, there was nobody to help him out. Not a single other Laker reached 20 points and three of the five starters failed to attain just the 10-point plateau. It was an all-around entertaining affair, but the Lakers lost a critical game 110-102.

NBA Prediction: Who Will Win Warriors vs. Lakers?

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