Los Angeles Lakers vs LA Clippers Prediction, Odds, Best Bets - Opening Week
The Lakers are 3-0 and scoring 128.0 points per game, and they played last night. The Clippers are rested, at home in their own building, and missing half a rotation, which is its own kind of clarity. Luka Doncic against a thinned-out home team, on tired legs, is the late game in every sense.
The Matchup
The Lakers are 3-0, and Luka Doncic has been the best player in the league's first two weeks. He leads Los Angeles at 34.3 points and 8.0 assists per game, the Lakers score 128.0 points per game as a team, and Austin Reaves gives them a second creator most defenses cannot account for after Doncic bends them. Walker Kessler leads the Lakers at 8.0 rebounds per game.
The catch is the calendar. The Lakers beat Portland at home on Tuesday night and play again tonight, in the same city but in the other team's building, which makes this a road game on no rest. Adou Thiero is out with inflammation in his left knee and Cameron Carr is out with a strained oblique. The Lakers went 53-29 last season.
The Clippers are 1-2 in their own building and missing a crowd of players. Brandon Ingram is out after Achilles surgery, Bradley Beal is out with inflammation in his right knee, Max Strus is out with plantar fasciitis in his right foot, and Rui Hachimura, who leads the Clippers at 6.0 rebounds per game, is out with soreness in his left quadriceps.
What is left is coherent, at least. Darius Garland leads the Clippers at 24.0 points and 7.0 assists per game, the Clippers allow only 109.7 points per game, and the rotation, short as it is, has no confusion about who runs the team. The Clippers went 42-40 last season.
DraftKings makes the Lakers a 5.5-point favorite at the Intuit Dome, with a total of 228.5. The favorite played last night. The underdog has been home resting since the weekend.
Key Factors
Doncic's legs are the first question. His game is built on strength and deceleration more than speed, which ages well on a back-to-back, but the Lakers' role players are the ones who usually fade on the second night, and Los Angeles needs their shooting to keep the Clippers' defense honest. If the Lakers' supporting cast is a step slow, the Clippers can load up on Doncic in a way rested teams rarely get to attempt against him.
Garland gives the Clippers a real answer in the duel of the guards. He is quick enough to attack the Lakers' drop coverage and patient enough to find the Clippers' shooters when help comes, and Los Angeles allows 115.0 points per game even while winning. The Clippers do not need to outscore the Lakers at their best. They need the Lakers at about 90 percent, which is what a back-to-back usually produces.
The building matters more than it should. This is the Clippers' home court, with their crowd and their wall of fans behind the basket, against a Lakers team that sleeps in its own beds but wears the road uniforms. Rivalry games in this city stay close as a rule, and a rested home underdog with a real point guard has every reason to be in this one at the end.
The Lakers are the better team and Doncic is the best player in the game, but they played last night, and the Clippers are rested at home with Garland playing well enough to keep this close all night. A tired favorite laying points in a rivalry game is a bet to fade. Take the LA Clippers +5.5 at -115.
Game information
| DATE | Wednesday (10/28) |
|---|---|
| START TIME | 9:30 PM CT |
| HOW TO WATCH | League Pass |
| VENUE | Intuit Dome |
| SPREAD | Los Angeles Lakers -5.5 |
| TOTAL | 228.5 |
| MONEYLINE | Los Angeles Lakers -205 |
More picks this week
Player props for this game
1 prop- Austin Reaves PointsOver 22.5 -122
Every pick is published with its line before the game. Odds via consensus sportsbooks at time of writing and move constantly. Must be 21+. If gambling is a problem, call or text 1-800-GAMBLER.