Golden State Warriors vs. Los Angeles Lakers Prediction, Preview, and Odds
We have a potential Western Conference Play-In Tournament preview as the Golden State Warriors (34-31, 10th in West) head to the Crypto.com Arena to take on the Los Angeles Lakers (36-31, ninth in West). The Warriors are coming off a 109-99 road loss against the Dallas Mavericks while the Lakers are coming off a 120-107 road loss against the Sacramento Kings. This is the third of four games against one another with each team winning one game.
Aiming for a Comeback
The Golden State Warriors are currently 10th in the Western Conference with a 34-31 record and need to figure out how to stay in playoff contention. Their recent 109-99 road loss to the Dallas Mavericks shows some concerns without Stephen Curry for this team. The offense has been doing well as they are scoring 118.2 points per game while shooting 47.1% from the floor and 37.5% from beyond the arc. Chris Paul has been playing well in different roles as he is averaging 7.0 assists per game so far this year.
The defense has been better as they are giving up 116.7 points per game up to this point. They are trying to improve but they are rebounding well with 43.3 total rebounds per game. The defensive shooting percentages are not great as they are allowing 46.9% from the field. With the depth issues with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green on the injury report, there is going to be some concern going forward.
Lakers' Star Power Surge
The Los Angeles Lakers are ninth in the Western Conference with a 36-31 record and are doing well at home with a 24-11 record at the Crypto.com Arena. The Lakers lost last time out on the road to the Sacramento Kings 120-107 and need to improve against teams with European big men, something the Lakers struggle against. On the offensive side of things, the Lakers are averaging 117.1 points per game and leading the NBA with 49.8% from the floor. LeBron James has been doing extremely well as he is averaging 25.2 points and 8.0 assists per game. Anthony Davis is crashing the glass with 12.4 total rebounds per game, including 3.1 offensive rebounds per game.
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) March 15, 2024
Their defense shows there are some difficulties as the Lakers are giving up 117.6 points per game. They are allowing 47.5% from the floor and 37.7% from beyond the arc. With James' 1.3 steals per game, this team should get to a better position on the defensive side of the court.
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Full-Game Side Bet
Rating:
The Lakers are an excellent offensive team and the Warriors are going to struggle if/when Stephen Curry and Draymond Green are limited if they are on the court. The Lakers should be able to keep up if Klay Thompson and Chris Paul are the significant threats from the backcourt. The Lakers match up well against the Warriors and should be able to do well here. They dominate at home so expect them to cover the spread in their own building.
Prediction: Los Angeles Lakers -3.5
Full-Game Total Pick
Rating:
These defenses are not going to be able to get stops on shooters and they are going to score the basketball well here. One way to look at this is 60 points per quarter and that feels a lot more doable than not. Expect 20-25 combined threes plus LeBron James and Anthony Davis drawing fouls and getting to the free-throw line. Expect to see points flying and a lot of runs so take the over to the bank here.
Prediction: Over 237.5
From an early age, Justin knew he would be involved with sports in some way shape, or form. Justin played baseball in high school as well as basketball. He also coached basketball during summer vacations for local recreational organizations throughout high school. In college, he began writing for the school newspaper, both news articles as well as sports but soon discovered sports was his vocation. For the last seven years, he has written sports editorials for both hard copy newspapers as well as online sites and has now joined our team here at StatSalt. He has a deep passion for breaking down the games and also being on them. Be sure and follow along with Justin on a daily basis as he will point you in the right way.
