Wizards Catching Lakers at a Great Time

Life without Anthony Davis and Dennis Schroder is proving to be rough for the Los Angeles Lakers – particularly on the offensive end. The Lakers (22-9 SU, 14-17 ATS) look to get their offense going Monday night against a visiting Washington Wizards team (10-17 SU, 13-14 ATS) that has reeled off four consecutive victories, despite being the underdog in three of them.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

Los Angeles opened as a 7-point favorite but has since dipped down to -6.5 at the majority of sportsbooks. The total of 225.5 is now available anywhere from 225 to 226 depending on where you wager.

Washington News & Notes

The Wizards could only dream of where the tandem of Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook would take them when they acquired Westbrook from the Houston Rockets in the offseason. And while the ride so far has been mostly bumpy, a four-game winning streak has optimism high with Washington entering the week just three games out of eighth place in the Eastern Conference.

Beal will be the one to watch Monday night, as he continues his quest to win his first NBA scoring title. Beal (32.9 ppg) is more than 2.5 points ahead of runner-up Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers and has been even more prolific on the road (34.1) than at home (31.7). He’s probably a fade in daily fantasy, however, given the Lakers’ elite defense and his elevated salary.

Los Angeles News & Notes

LeBron James has been in this situation before, but not for a while. James is the unquestioned No. 1 scoring option for the Lakers these days, with Davis (Achilles) and Schroder (COVID-19) both out indefinitely. Davis and Schroder combine to average 36.7 points, and the Lakers have averaged just 96 points in back-to-back losses with both players out of the lineup.

So who will step up for the defending champions in their absence Monday night? Some of that scoring burden will fall on newly minted starting forward Kyle Kuzma, who is averaging 19.5 points over the past two games. Kuzma is an intriguing DFS flyer – especially in tournaments – given his low price tag and the fact that he’s almost certainly going to see 30 or more minutes.

Betting Pick: Wizards +5.5 (-110)

It’s hard not to like the visitors here given the state of the Lakers’ offense, combined with how well the Wizards have played of late.