NBA Bulls vs Lakers Betting Lines keeping in mind Lebron James

The Los Angeles Lakers have been rumored to be looking at trading for Bulls All-Star Zach LaVine, but LA won’t get a look at LaVine up close on Thursday when the teams face off at Crypto.com Arena as he’s out injured. 2024 NBA Expert Analysis Chicago vs Los Angeles Lakers | MyBookie Sportsbook NBA Week 14

LeBron James sat out the most recent game for the Lakers and the NBA odds will be largely determined whether he suits up Thursday – seems likely he will.

How to Bet Bulls at Lakers NBA Odds & TV Info

When: Thursday, 10:30 PM ET
Where: Crypto.com Arena
TV: NBA League Pass
Stream: NBA.com, NBA TV app
Radio: Tunein.com
NBA Odds: TBA (on LeBron James)

Series History

The Bulls beat the visiting Lakers 124-108 on Dec. 20. Chicago shot 54.5% from the field and had eight players score in double figures even though All-Star Zach LaVine was out injured. DeMar DeRozan had 27 points, nine assists and seven rebounds and Nikola Vucevic 13 points and 10 rebounds. Trailing by as many as 18 points early in the second quarter, Los Angeles repeatedly trimmed the deficit to as low as two as late as halfway through the third quarter, but couldn’t overtake Chicago. James had 25 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.

The two teams have met 162 times in the regular season, with the Lakers leading the all-time series 95-67. At Crypto.com Arena, the Lakers are 15-8 all-time.

Why Bet on Chicago Bulls?

The Bulls (21-24) started this road trip with a crushing 115-113 loss in Phoenix – crushing as Chicago led by as many as 23 points. Chicago’s DeMar DeRozan (21 points) hit a short jumper to tie it at 113 with 22.9 seconds left. That set up the final possession for the Suns. Grayson Allen threw the inbounds pass to Jusuf Nurkic, who found Kevin Durant, who then pulled up for the jumper with Bulls defenders draped all over him. It went in anyway.

“There’s been some games this year — quite honestly — that we’ve lost that we have no right to be upset about,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said. “This is a game that you can be upset because you poured your heart and soul into it and came up short.”

Coby White just missed a triple-double with 26 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists — White led the Bulls in points and assists in the loss while finishing second in rebounds. His scoring came on an ultra-efficient 10-for-14 shooting line, including a 4-for-5 mark from three-point range. White continues to shine as one of the league’s most improved players this season — each of his averages of 18.8 points, 5.0 dimes, 4.6 boards and 2.8 three-pointers is on pace for a career-high mark. White is also knocking down a career-best 40.3 percent of his three-point tries.

Nikola Vucevic had 19 points, 17 rebounds and seven assists – his rebounds led all players in the contest and helped him record his fifth straight double-double. The big man has shined as a distributor of late, tying his season-high mark with seven assists in two of his past three games.

The Bulls rank third in least turnovers per game (12.3), second in total deflections (689), fourth in total points off turnovers (787), fifth in steals (350), tied for seventh in points off turnovers per game (17.7) and tied for ninth in steals per game (7.8) this season.

Alex Caruso ranks tied for third in the NBA in deflections per game (3.3) and has tallied 124 deflections in 2023-24, which stands fifth in the NBA and second in the Eastern Conference. Backup Andre Drummond leads the Bulls and all NBA centers this season with 53 steals, making him one of five players in the NBA this season with at least 375 rebounds and 50 steals.

Regarding Thursday, DeRozan is averaging 28.4 ppg and 7.2 apg in his last five games against Los Angeles. DeRozan leads the Bulls in games with 20 or more points this season (29). Since joining Chicago in 2021-22, he has tallied 145 games with 20-plus points, which leads the team.

The Bulls are 4-6 in their last 10 games against the Lakers, but have won four of their last five meetings. Chicago has scored no less than 115 points in its last four wins versus Los Angeles, winning by double-digits in three of these four wins. Caruso won an NBA championship with the Lakers during the 2019-20 season.

Bet Bulls to Win
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Why Bet on Los Angeles Lakers?

The Lakers (22-23) gave LeBron James Tuesday at the Clippers off with a minor ankle injury and he’s day-to-day – but usually doesn’t miss back-to-back games unless truly hurt.

James has played in 40 games and is averaging 24.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, 7.4 assists and 1.3 steals per contest while shooting 52.0% from the field and 39.1% from the three-point range. LeBron is sitting on 944 regular-season wins, nine away from moving past NBA legend Karl Malone for fifth all-time. The active leader in wins, James is one of seven players in NBA history to achieve the 900 career wins milestone.

“Just trying to be proactive with his ankle,” Coach Darvin Ham said of resting LeBron. “He’ll probably be day-to-day. But that’s pretty much it.”

No surprise the Lakers were easily handled Tuesday without him, 127-116. The Clippers shot 59.1% from the field and 51.9% from the 3-point line, enough to overcome being outscored 18-3 on second-chance points and allowing 22 points off turnovers. The fourth straight road loss dropped the Lakers under .500 at 22-23. They led just once, by one point early in the game.

“[The Clippers are] in a really good rhythm. But that said, I think the lesson tonight is how we competed, how we competed together,” Ham said. “Again, guys taking accountability for mistakes and not making them twice. Trying to get better defensively as the game was ticking away. Disappointed in the loss but proud of how our guys competed minus LeBron.”

In addition, Lakers forward Cam Reddish limped off the floor barely able to put weight on his right leg after going down at mid-court in the fourth.

D’Angelo Russell had 27 points, 10 assists and five rebounds in the loss and is really playing well with trade rumors swirling. Since rejoining the starting lineup, Russell is averaging 27.2 points, 7.0 assists and 2.7 rebounds, which are all above his seasonal averages.

Anthony Davis had 26 points and 12 rebounds. Davis has recorded a double-double in six straight and eight of his last nine games, scoring 25 points or more in five outings. The Lakers’ bench woke up enough to absorb some of LeBron’s missing production, so Davis didn’t have the customary big number he usually compiles when his All-Star teammate is absent.

On the season, the Lakers have scored 1.12 points per possession when they run organized offense compared to 1.07 points per possession when freelancing. Over the last 10 games, the split between the two scoring rates is wider — 1.15 points per possession on organized offense compared to 1.03 when freelancing. Over the course of a game, that’s a 5-to-10-point gap, or the difference between the best halfcourt offense in the league and an average one.

Bet Lakers to Win
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Bulls vs Lakers Expert Prediction

Lakers 115, Bulls 110

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