The Los Angeles Lakers have a game tonight, and will be coming into that game with a winning “streak” for the first time since February 18th when they faced the Brooklyn Nets. The Lakers snapped their four-game losing streak with a win Friday against the Trail Blazers and will now look to avenge a January 18th loss to the Golden State Warriors as the Lakers welcome them to Staples Center again tonight.
The Warriors are 19-15 coming into tonight, 13-9 in their last 21 games dating back to (and including) their 115-113 win against the Lakers on January 18th. The Lakers have a similar 12-8 record in that same time span, with the Lakers currently 3rd in the Western Conference standings while the Warriors are four games behind at 7th.
The Lakers offense is going to have to step up more in this game than they have lately, as the Warriors have the best Defensive Rating in the NBA in their past 10 games (7-3 record). The Lakers’ Offensive Rating is currently ranked 27th in that same time span, but hopefully, Dennis Schröder will bring some added production on that end in his second game back from health and safety protocols. He led the Lakers in scoring in their previous game against the Warriors (25 points, five rebounds, and three assists) and will hopefully have another productive game to keep the Lakers in the win column with only two more games left before the All-Star break after this one.
Injury news
A rarity: Only two names on the injury report for the Lakers for tomorrow's game. pic.twitter.com/hL7NJRGl8P
— NBA Insider Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) February 28, 2021
What a sight for sore eyes. Anthony Davis will be the lone Laker out, with no other players receiving “questionable” or worse injury designations. The Warriors shouldn’t have any last-minute absences but will continue to be without Klay Thompson with his injury-ending Achilles injury while Marquese Chriss remains out while he continues to recover from surgery.
Betting central
Lakers -3; Over/under 221; Lakers moneyline -152
I went 2-1 with my bets in my last preview written for the Jazz game, as I saw that beatdown coming from a mile away. I’m now 12-19-2 on the season, as I am still struggling to recover from my early season failures.
The first bet that jumps out to me in this one is the over/under total at 221. I’m going to take the under as the Lakers have only eclipsed 110 points once in their last five games while the Warriors have the best-rated defense in the last 10 games. Although it continues to have its bad moments without Anthony Davis, the Lakers defense has been just as good as last year with the best Defensive Rating on the season and the third-best mark in the past 10 games. I’ll then take the Lakers moneyline, as I could see this game going down to the wire with the -3 spread scaring me a little bit. I’ll also take Dennis Schröder’s over on points at 17.5 due to his last game against the Warriors (25 points) as well as his 22 points on Friday in his first game in 10 days.
Where to watch
The game will be televised on Spectrum SportsNet, but will also be nationally televised on ESPN. Tip-off is early, at 5:00 p.m. PST.
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