The Lakers have covered just three of their last nine games, but that didn’t stop oddsmakers from Sportsbook LA as 12-point chalk. Phoenix is playing its sixth game in nine days and has won just twice in its last eight, although those wins came over the Mavericks and Rockets.
- Date/Time: February 10, 10:30 p.m. ET
- Arena: Staples Center
- TV Coverage: NBA TV, Fox Sports Arizona, Spectrum SportsNet, Sportsnet
- Sportsbook Odds: Lakers -12 / O/U 227
- Suns vs Lakers Matchup Report
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
The OVER is 4-1 in the Lakers’ last five home games, and that’s the way early bettors attacked the Sportsbook line. The total had been bet up 2 points to 227 by the time of writing on Sunday night. Meanwhile, the Suns had been bet down slightly to 11.5-point underdogs.
Phoenix News & Notes
One day after routing the Rockets 127-91, the Suns fell 117-108 at home Saturday to the Nuggets. That 24-hour span summed up what Phoenix has been lately: extremely up and down.
Not only have the Suns lost six of their last eight SU and ATS, they haven’t come within five points of a point spread cover in any of their last five losses. But in its two victories, Phoenix covered the spread by a combined 74.5 points, blowing out the Mavericks 133-104 as 7-point underdogs and then hammering the Rockets as 2.5-point pups.
So what version of the Suns should we expect to show up against the Lakers? Given how busy Phoenix’s calendar has been lately, it’ll be tough for the injury-plagued Suns to be at their best.
Monday’s contest will be Phoenix’s sixth in the last nine days, a fatigue spot exacerbated by the fact that coach Monty Williams played all of his starters at least 32 minutes in Saturday’s loss. In fact, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Deandre Ayton were both on the court for all but six of the 48 minutes against Denver.
Los Angeles News & Notes
The Lakers hold a three-game lead in the Western Conference standings going into the final week before the NBA All-Star Game, but coach Frank Vogel doesn’t want his team coasting into the break.
“We’ve got two big games coming up. We’ve got to lock in,” Vogel told reporters after the Lakers beat the Warriors 125-120 on Saturday in Golden State.
Vogel may have an easier time getting his team’s attention after the Lakers’ sloppy performance against the Warriors, when LA turned over the ball 24 times and struggled to preserve a 21-point lead in the fourth quarter. The Lakers are just 5-4 SU and 3-6 ATS in their last nine games, and they’ve lost three of their last four at home — twice as double-digit chalk.
Betting Pick: Lakers -11.5
Phoenix has lost each of its last four visits to the Lakers by double digits, and I don’t see the Suns keeping this one close either.
- The Suns are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games.
- The Lakers are 3-6 ATS in their last 9 games.
- The Suns are 3-8 ATS in their last 11 games against the Lakers.
