Golden State Warriors vs. Los Angeles Lakers: Odds, Picks, And Predictions

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Golden State Warriors at Los Angeles Lakers Odds, Picks And Predictions

After a humbling 114-89 loss to the Jazz on Wednesday, the Lakers bounced back on Friday night with a comeback win over the Trail Blazers. The Warriors were simultaneously taking on Charlotte in San Francisco and dominated from jump street, ultimately claiming a 130-121 win that wasn’t as close as it sounds.

Warriors at Lakers picks and predictions require either laying points with the defending champs, who looked like a different team with point guard Dennis Schroder back, or riding the hot hand since Golden State has won seven of its last 10 games. The teams are separated by four games in the Pacific Division race and are both looking up at the Clippers, who will take a half-game lead into Sunday’s nationally-televised showdown with Milwaukee. If the Bucks hold serve at home, the Lakers would be able to surge back in front of their Staples Center co-tenants by knocking off Golden State.

Los Angeles Lakers Vs. Golden State Warriors Odds

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• Time/Venue: 8:05 p.m. ET, Staples Center
• TV: ESPN

Lakers Current Form And Betting Results

Anthony Davis was lost to a calf injury and shelved for the foreseeable future after being injured on Valentine’s Day. After losing to the Nuggets in that game and beating the Timberwolves in Minnesota without Davis two nights later, L.A. lost to the Nets, Heat and Wizards before it got obliterated in Utah.

The losing streak also coincided with Schroder being lost due to the league’s COVID health and safety protocols for a couple of games, but he was cleared early on Friday and returned with 22 points to help the Lakers get past the Blazers, helping clamp down on Damian Lillard after the All-Star point guard’s hot start.

Warriors at Lakers picks and predictions will weigh out just whether Schroder can similarly keep Stephen Curry from coming up with a big night. L.A. is 25-7 with Schroder in the mix and finally looked like itself for the first time in a few weeks. Dating back to Jan. 25, the Lakers are just 5-12 against the spread over the last 17 games. The ‘under’ has prevailed in five of L.A.’s last six games.

Warriors Current Form And Betting Results

Golden State was 12-12 after losing three of its first four games in February, which included dropping a game where Curry scored 57 points. The Warriors rebounded from a 105-100 setback in San Antonio on Feb. 8 by defeating the Spurs the next night, picking up a split and setting off a 7-3 run.

The Dubs have covered the spread in five of their last seven and were especially impressive against the Hornets, riding Draymond Green’s career-high 19 assists in reaching the 130-point mark for the fifth time this season. Green added 11 points and 12 rebounds to post a triple-double, while Curry added 29 points and nine assists. Kelly Oubre, Jr. added 27 points, and rookie center James Wiseman scored 16 points off the bench in his second game back from injury.

At one point this month, Golden State was forced to go extremely small due to Wiseman and Kevon Looney both sitting out, so the fact both players have returned to action gives the Warriors hope that this recent success won’t be short-lived. Friday’s win over the Hornets snapped a string of three games to the low side.

Betting Line Analysis

A line isn’t available at the time of this writing, but you can expect the Lakers to be favored by five to six points. The total is likely to hover around 225-228.

Warriors at Lakers betting odds should call for a more competitive game than the first time these teams played one another on Jan. 18, when L.A. was installed as an 8.5-point at DraftKings and FanDuel and a 9-point favorite at BetMGM.

Golden State won 115-113 in an unlikely upset and cashed as a +350 money-line winner. The Warriors rallied after trailing by 16 points at the break by dominating the fourth quarter, erasing a 14-point deficit in the final quarter by outscoring L.A. 34-21 over the last 12 minutes.

The Lakers outrebounded the Warriors 61-39 but committed 19 turnovers, so those are themes to keep an eye out for in this second meeting. Davis finished with 17 points and 17 boards but both he and LeBron James shot 6-for-16.

The Lakers vs. Warriors betting total should again be in the 225-228 range given the first game’s result but Davis’ absence has been felt more on the offensive end of late. Wiseman was only able to stay on the floor a handful of minutes in the first matchup due to foul trouble so he’ll need to be smarter in protecting the paint since he’ll be an x-factor here.

Injuries/Rotational Adjustments To Watch

Davis is out, but Schroder and Caruso have returned from absences to give head coach Frank Vogel a couple of ball handlers to take some of that pressure off James.

Schroder looks like he had fresh legs after missing a handful of games and will be just one of a number of bodies Curry will see chasing him around. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Caruso and Wesley Matthews should all see time. Green outplaying Kyle Kuzma, Oubre making life difficult for James without hearing the whistle and Looney and Wiseman helping bridge that first game deficit on the boards could help Golden State steal another road win over the Lakers.

Warriors At Lakers Handicapping Notes And Pick

Curry has been tremendous of late and Green comes off a huge night, but the Lakers do defend well when they put their mind to it and will have a nationally-televised showcase serving as motivation to avoid getting lit up. Golden State knows going in that it won’t be able to rack up the assists on back cuts and forced missed assignments like they did against the Hornets, so expect it to come in focused on being stingier too.

Pick: Under