The Sixers are just 9-22 on the road this season, riding an eight-game road losing streak into Tuesday’s matchup with the Lakers. They opened as 11.5-point underdogs, but with Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and Josh Richardson injured, it’s difficult to see them covering the spread — or scoring many points.
- Date/Time: March 3, 10 p.m. ET
- Arena: Staples Center
- TV Coverage: TNT
- Sportsbook Odds: Lakers -11.5 | O/U 219
- 76ers vs Lakers Matchup Report
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
The Lakers are 21-7 at home, have won eight of their last nine games and will have LeBron James playing, and possibly Anthony Davis too. Philadelphia is missing three of its top four players and is riding an eight-game road losing streak, so it’s no surprise that Los Angeles opened as an 11.5-point home favorite. With so much offensive talent on the sidelines, and both teams having a history of low-scoring matchups, the total opened at just 219 points.
Philadelphia News & Notes
The Sixers conclude their two-game Staples Center tour Tuesday, after dropping a 136-130 decision to the Clippers on Sunday. With stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons already injured, another Philadelphia player went down as guard Josh Richardson suffered a concussion against the Clippers.
He’s already been confirmed out for Tuesday’s game, which puts the 76ers in an even more dire situation: they’re 8-8 over their last 16 games, with every loss coming on the road. They are also just 1-7 against the spread during this eight-game road losing streak, though their one ATS victory came in their last game.
The injuries have left Tobias Harris, who’s second on the team with 19.2 points per game, to carry the offensive load for Philly. The Sixers are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 road games against the Lakers, but with the severe lack of depth, it will be difficult for them to stop their road woes.
Los Angeles News & Notes
The beauty of having two superstars on your roster is when one of them is sidelined, the other can be relied on to carry the team to victory.
When LeBron James was out with a sore groin, Anthony Davis led the way in a blowout win over Golden State. When it was Davis’ turn to sit out on Sunday against the Pelicans with a sore right knee, James delivered a 34-point triple-double in a 122-114 win.
The victory was the Lakers’ eighth in their last nine games and they have gone 6-2 ATS over their last eight. The high-scoring streak that Los Angeles had been on has cooled down somewhat: the total has now gone UNDER in four of their last six contests, as their top-10 defense has started to flex its muscles.
The total has also gone UNDER in nine of their last 13 games against the Sixers. With Davis still questionable for the Lakers, and Philadelphia missing three of its four key starters, don’t go expecting “Showtime” on Tuesday.
Betting Pick: UNDER 219
The Sixers, who struggle offensively at the best of times, are missing three of their four top scorers, while Los Angeles could be without its leading point man. That smells of a low-scoring game.
- The Lakers are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games vs Eastern Conference clubs.
- The UNDER is 4-1 in the Lakers’ last 5 games played on a Tuesday.
- Philadelphia is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games vs the Lakers.
