NBA Predictions & Odds 5/6/23

Golden State Warriors (49-42) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (49-42)
May 6, 2023 8:30 pm EDT
The Line: Los Angeles Lakers -3; Over/Under: +229.5
(Get latest betting odds)

The Golden State Warriors invade the crypto.com Arena to battle the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3 on Saturday night.

The Golden State Warriors will be looking to take the lead in the series after squaring things up with a 127-100 win in Game 2 on Thursday. Klay Thompson drained eight 3-pointers to lead the team with 30 points on 11 of 18 shooting, Stephen Curry added 20 points with 12 assists while Draymond Green tallied 11 points with 11 rebounds and nine assists. As a team, the Warriors shot 50 percent from the field and 21 of 42 from the 3-point line as they bombarded the Lakers with 3-pointers, pouring in 41 points in the second quarter to take control, before they exploded for 43 points in the third quarter to lead by as many as 32 points at one stage.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers will have mixed emotions after dropping Game 2 after looking so good in the series opener. LeBron James led the team with 23 points, seven rebounds and three assists, Anthony Davis scored just 11 points with seven rebounds and four assists while D’Angelo Russell chipped in with 10 points and eight assists. As a team, the Lakers shot just 42 percent from the field and 10 of 34 from the 3-point line, but they didn’t play with the same level of urgency on the defensive end and it cost them big. The only real highlight from the game was the play of Rui Hachimura who poured in 21 points in just 22 minutes off the bench.

Looking at the betting trends, the Warriors are 2-7 ATS in their last nine games following a win of more than 10 points and 17-36-1 ATS in their last 54 road games. The Lakers are 4-1 ATS in their last five home games and 9-4 ATS in their last 13 games against a team with a winning record.

Head to head, the over is 7-3 in the last 10 meetings overall, the Warriors are 1-4 ATS in the last five meetings in Los Angeles and the Warriors are 1-4 ATS in the last five meetings overall.

The Lakers didn’t show up on defense in Game 2 like they did in the series opener and they simply made it too easy for the Warriors who took the opportunity with both hands. Almost every Lakers player had a poor game, but the most disappointing performance was from Davis who scored just 11 points after dominating Game 1 with 30 points. It’s tempting to take the Warriors as underdogs in this one, but I think we’re going to see the Lakers bounce back with a big game from Davis. This should be a close one, but I’m leaning towards the Lakers to reclaim the series lead in this spot.