NBA Lines, Game Preview & Expert Analysis for Lakers with Lebron James in doubt against Warriors

The NBA comes out of its All-Star break on Thursday with a busy schedule, highlighted by the Los Angeles Lakers – perhaps without LeBron James – visiting the Golden State Warriors in the second game of a TNT doubleheader with the Dubs favored on the NBA odds. 2024 NBA Expert Analysis LA Lakers vs Golden State | MyBookie Sportsbook NBA Week 17

How to Bet Lakers at Warriors NBA Odds & TV Info

When: Thursday, 10 PM ET
Where: Chase Center
TV: TNT
Stream: TNT app
Radio: Tunein.com
NBA Odds: Warriors -4 (total 241.5)

Lakers vs Warriors Season Series

Second of four regular-season meetings. The teams played an epic game on Jan. 27 in San Francisco with the Lakers winning 145-144 in double overtime. LeBron James made a pair of free throws with 1.2 seconds left to cap his triple-double of 36 points, career-high 20 rebounds and 12 assists. Steph Curry hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 4.7 seconds left in the second OT and finished with 46 points. Klay Thompson hit a tying 3 with 5.9 seconds remaining in the initial overtime and another late in the second extra period before fouling out with 1:14 left in Golden State’s first double-OT game since a 143-141 victory against Atlanta on Jan. 2, 2023. The Lakers have won the past four in the series.

Why Bet on Los Angeles Lakers?

The Lakers were playing some of their best basketball of the season before the break, winning three straight and six of seven. They easily won at Utah 138-122 in their finale last Wednesday. Rui Hachimura had 32 points, his best offensive performance of the season while picking up the gap left behind by LeBron James (ankle) and other Lakers players who were inactive.

Anthony Davis scored 37 points with 15 rebounds. His shooting efficiency has been impressive this season with a 55 percent success rate from the field, contributing to an average of 24.6 points and 12.1 rebounds per game.

The Lakers’ pick and roll offense has been improving all year and is now regularly putting up fantastic games. Their current 15-game average form of 1.115 points per possession is a season high. After listless and selfish play in the half-court early in the year, Los Angeles is tied for first in assists per contest in their last 15 games. The improved passing has been a team-wide development, but individually, the biggest strides have come from Davis. In those past 15 games, he has assisted on the 3rd-most makes out of the post in the league.

It’s possible that LeBron is out for this game with that troublesome ankle that limited his minutes in Sunday’s All-Star Game. James said afterward that the treatment he would get this week could “possibly” sideline him, but we rather doubt it.

“I feel pretty good. I mean, I feel okay,” James said after the ASG. “I definitely wasn’t going to put too much pressure on the game tonight for me, physically. I want to try to be as healthy as I can be. When we get to this last part of the season, it’s very important for us to make sure of that.”

Los Angeles signed veteran guard Spencer Dinwiddie off waivers recently and he has been a solid contributor in two games, averaging 8.0 points and 5.5 assists. Dinwiddie chose the Lakers over Dallas. The Lakers were able to give Dinwiddie a bit more money than other teams, which helped in his decision, as did the fact that he would be returning to where he grew up as a Southern California native.

The Lakers and Warriors have met 435 times in the regular season, where L.A. holds a 262-173 advantage. In the Los Angeles era, the Lakers are 211-133 against the Warriors. The Lakers hold the all-time series advantage in overtime games, 10-9.

Why Bet on Golden State Warriors?

Golden State also is playing well as it won six of its final seven before the break, last 140-137 at Utah last Thursday. Klay Thompson came off the bench for the first time since his rookie season to knock down seven 3-pointers and score a season-high 35 points. Thompson was a reserve for the first time since March 11, 2012. Rookie guard Brandin Podziemski replaced him in the starting lineup and finished with 13 points, eight assists, and six rebounds.

“You can do two things: You can pout or you can go out there and respond,” said Thompson, who became the sixth Golden State player to surpass 15,000 points. “I thought I did the latter very well.”

Draymond Green recorded a season-high 23 points, five rebounds, five assists, a season-high four steals, two blocks and three 3-pointers. Andrew Wiggins tallied 19 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Stephen Curry recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 assists.

Curry made two of his eight 3-point field goal attempts at Utah, ending his streak of making seven-or-more 3-pointers at four consecutive games (11, 9, 7, 9), becoming the first player in NBA History to do so. He made 36 3-pointers in that four-game span, matching his NBA record for the third time in his career. Curry had 16 points in Sunday’s All-Star Game and also beat WNBA star Sabrina Ionescu in a special 3-Point Contest on All-Star Saturday night.

Jonathan Kuminga has scored at least 10 points in each of the last 33 games, a career-best streak. The streak is the longest in a single season for a Warrior since Curry’s 56-game streak (10/18-4/9/23). Almost every month this season Kuminga has increased his scoring average: 11.0 ppg in October, 11.3 ppg in November, 14.2 ppg in December, 20.6 ppg in January and 18.9 in February.

Podziemski has scored in double figures in eight of the last 11 games (12.4 ppg in that span), including the last four. He leads all rookies in games (14) with at least 10 points, five rebounds and five assists. Wiggins has scored in double figures in each of the last six games (15.0 ppg in that span). He’s made eight of his last 13 3-point attempts in the last three games (61.5 3P%).

Golden State is ranked fourth in the league in assists (29.0 apg) and has dished out 30-or-more assists 24 times this season, including the last six games. The Warriors have played in a league-high 37 clutch games (score within five points in the final five minutes of the game), and have a 18-19 record in those games.

Lakers vs Warriors Expert Prediction

Warriors 123, Lakers 121

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