Things are starting to come easily for the Los Angeles Lakers, and that should be a major red flag to the rest of the Western Conference – including the Golden State Warriors, who visit Staples Center on Monday. The red-hot Lakers (11-3 SU, 8-6 ATS) have reeled off four straight double-digit wins entering their first 2020-21 meeting with the Warriors (6-6 SU, 5-7 ATS).
- Date/Time: January 18, 10 p.m. ET
- Arena: Staples Center
- TV Coverage: TNT
- Sportsbook Odds: Lakers -10 | O/U 225 (Line History)
- Warriors vs Lakers Matchup Report
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
The Lakers opened as a whopping 10-point favorite, but that line has since settled into the -8.5 range across the majority of sportsbooks. The total of 225 can now be found anywhere from 225.5 to 226.5.
Golden State News & Notes
The key to victory for the Warriors this season is the simplest flow chart you’ll ever see. Is Steph Curry cooking? If yes, then the Warriors likely prevail; he’s averaging an incredible 34.7 points while shooting better than 47 percent in Golden State’s six wins. On the flip side, Curry has averaged just 22.2 points while shooting a dismal 41.7 percent in the Warriors’ six defeats.
While Curry is talented enough to carry a team to victory, he’ll need help Monday – and he hasn’t been getting much so far this season, with only one other player (small forward Andrew Wiggins) averaging more than 12 points per game. Wiggins has surpassed the 20-point plateau just once in his past six games and was held to just 16 in Thursday’s 114-104 loss to Denver.
Los Angeles News & Notes
These days, it’s good to be King. LeBron James and the Lakers have steamrolled their way to the top spot in the NBA standings, one game clear of the rival Clippers in the West hierarchy. Perhaps the most significant development for James: The recent string of blowouts has allowed him to pare back his playing time. James has averaged just 29.3 minutes the past four games.
One factor working in James’s favor (that isn’t in Curry’s): Plenty of support in the scoring department. Not only does James have a clear No. 2 in power forward Anthony Davis (21.7 ppg), but two new additions – guard Dennis Schroder and center Montrezl Harrell – average 14.1 and 13.8 points, respectively. Consider the UNDER on James’s stat props (see below for reasoning).
Betting Pick: Lakers -8.5 (-110)
The Lakers look like the best team in the NBA right now, and it isn’t particularly close. And while the Warriors have done well to remain mostly competitive this season, that probably won’t happen Monday in L.A.
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Buy Sports Picks Now- Golden State is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 road games.
- The UNDER is 9-3 in the Lakers’ past 12 games.
- The UNDER is 5-0 in Golden State’s last 5 games.
