The Los Angeles Lakers handed the Hornets a 28-point butt-kicking and will look to the same tonight when they visit the Washington Wizards. The Lakers have been hit or miss in away games this season at 7-7 SU and 6-8 ATS and have dropped four of their last five games at Capital One Arena. The Wizards haven’t found their footing all season at 11-18 SU in 29 games and have dropped four straight games by seven points or less.
The Lakers opened as slight 1.5-point favorites with a total of 231.5
- The Wizards are ranked 29th in points allowed per game.
- LeBron James leads the Lakers in points, rebounds, assists and steals.
- The OVER has hit in 9 of the Wizards’ 13 home games this season.
Lakers relying too much on LeBron for Success
While the recent win over the Hornets was impressive, it was the Lakers’ loss to the Rockets on Thursday that shows they may not have what it takes to win the title this season. Their perimeter defense allowed Houston to shoot 44 percent from deep and they relied too much on LeBron down the stretch and he couldn’t bury his free throws. James is only averaging 69 percent from the free throw line and is shooting 61 percent in seven games this month on 42 attempts.
LeBron clearly will need help some nights to ease the load on the King but right now, he leads the team in points, rebounds, assists and steals. This was the case for LeBron in Cleveland last season and while he took that team to the NBA Finals, it’s a lot tougher of a road through the Western Conference. For tonight, it’ll be more of the same with Brandon Ingram ruled out with an ankle injury.
The Lakers haven’t very reliable on the road this season as they’re 7-7 SU and 6-8 ATS in 14 away games and have only won consecutive road games once this year. The Rockets game aside, their defense has picked up lately as they rank 17th in points allowed per game compared to the first six weeks of the season when they routinely gave up over 115 points per game. However, I do think the Lakers win this game because they’ve only lost consecutive games once since the start of November and are 3-1 SU and ATS in four road games vs Eastern Conference teams.
Wizards Defense is Non-Existent
They can spin it anyway they want but the Wizards need to make a change and they need to make it fast. The Wiz have dropped four straight by an average of 6 points per game and that comes down to coaching and late-game execution. Scott Brooks has been on the hot seat all season and could very well be on his way out if the Wizards were to fail to make the playoffs.
Washington’s defense has been atrocious all season with it ranking 29th in the NBA in points allowed per game (117.2), 24th in opponent field goal percentage (47.1 percent) and 28th opponent three-point percentage (36.9 percent). During their four-game losing streak, teams are scoring an average of 120 points per game and with the Lakers ability to light up the scoreboard, they may have to outscore the Lake-Show in order to win.
That’s why I’m not taking the Wizards in this one because they can’t be counted on to stop a nosebleed let alone hold a team to less than 110 points.
Games at Capital One Arena leading to a lot of OVERs
As much as I just dumped on the Wizards for their poor defense, they still rank 10th in points scored per game which has led to a lot of profitable outcomes for totals bettors. The total opened at 231.5 for this matchup and the OVER has hit in nine of the Wiz’s 13 home games this season with an average combined score of 234.3 points per game. While that margin may be a little too close for bettors to feel comfortable taking the OVER, I’m confident it will come through.
My Pick Is…
To back the Lakers and take them to win and cover the spread. I think the Wizards are a mess and while it’s easy to have recency bias with how the Rockets game unfolded, the Lakers are better than they were at the beginning of the year and haven’t lost consecutive games in almost six weeks.
