Subscribe
Follow Us
The NBA regular season continues with games on Wednesday. The Los Angeles Lakers will hit the road and take on the Portland Trail Blazers. It's time to continue our NBA odds series and make a Lakers-Blazers prediction and pick.
Click here to Bet $5, Win $280 on either team in Super Bowl 56 (56-1 Odds)
*To claim, new users need to register, make a first-time deposit, and then simply place their first real-money wager on FanDuel Sportsbook on any NFL team playing in the NFL Super Bowl to win their matchup. All winning bets will be fulfilled within 72 hours if they win.*
These two teams have had somewhat similar starts to the season. The Los Angeles Lakers have been struggling and are coming off a tough loss. While the Portland Trail Blazers have also had a difficult season and have lost their last six games. This should be an interesting match between two teams really trying to turn things around.
Here are the Lakers-Blazers NBA odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NBA Odds: Lakers-Blazers Odds
Los Angeles Lakers: -9.5 (-112)
Portland Trail Blazers: +9.5 (-108)
Over: 223.5 (-110)
Under: 223.5 (-110)
*Watch NBA games LIVE with fuboTV (click for free trial)*
Why The Lakers Could Cover The Spread
The Los Angeles Lakers have been one of the most disappointing teams in the NBA this season. They have had to deal with injuries, but that is the least of their problems. The Lakers just haven't looked like a good team this season. Through their first 55 games, they have a losing record with only 26 wins and 29 losses. They are coming off a 15-point loss to the Milwaukee Bucks and are desperately seeking to turn things around. This is a very winnable game for LA, but they could easily come up short. The Lakers have the talent, they just need to play up to their potential.
The more the season progresses, the worse the acquisition of Russell Westbrook looks. Westbrook has played less than 30 minutes in the Lakers' last two matches. At this point in the season most teams have figured out how to best play their roster and most chemistry issues are gone, not for the Lakers. LA is still trying to work out how to play their roster and it's clear they haven't figured it out yet. LeBron and AD have both been outstanding, but it's not enough. This Laker team can't just be two players, but it's clear that's what it currently is.
At least the Lakers are healthy for the most part. LA currently has only three players listed on their injury report. Dwight Howard is listed as day-to-day and is questionable for the match. Melo remains out. The Lakers' problems are not with injuries but with chemistry. Even though they have been struggling, the Blazers are a very vulnerable team right now and the Lakers should dominate.
Why The Blazers Could Cover The Spread
The Portland Trail Blazers have seemingly waved the white flag on this season. Trading away CJ McCollum was not a move to make a run this season, rather restructure the team around Dame and set themselves up for success in future seasons. Through their first 55 games, the Blazers only have 21 wins and 34 losses. Portland likely isn't trying to win games anymore and is just going through the motions. With that said, the members of the team are still competitors and will likely try to take down the once-mighty Lakers. It will be interesting to see how Portland approaches this one.
The Blazers played their first game without McCollum on the roster and it did not go well. Portland was defeated by the Magic by 18. Orlando is quite possibly the worst team in the league and seeing this lopsided victory was somewhat surprising. The Blazers are just lacking direction and leadership and are currently in a state of flux. If they want to even keep Wednesday's match close they will need to come together and find some direction. The odds of that seem somewhat unlikely, however, it's not impossible.
Portland as a team is crippled right now. The Blazers currently have nine players listed on their injury report. Four of those players are the new additions acquired from the CJ McCollum trade, and those players are all listed as day-to-day. The other five players, including Damian Lillard, are listed as out for the match. Portland is not a team that is trying to win this season, rather they are trying to build a foundation for the future. That doesn't mean they won't win some more games this season, but they certainly don't seem like they want to.
Final Lakers-Blazers Prediction & Pick
This is a really interesting matchup. Two teams are facing off with completely different motives. The Lakers are a win-now team. LA needs to start winning games and are hoping to just make it to the playoffs so they could potentially make a run. Portland, on the other hand, has all but given up on this season. They know they aren't going to win this year and so they are setting themselves up for the future. Given all of this, pick the Lakers to win and cover, even though they have been struggling and the spread is wide, LA wants to score a big win on Wednesday.
Final Lakers-Blazers Prediction & Pick: Los Angeles Lakers -9.5 (-112)
FINAL LAKERS-BLAZERS SCORE PREDICTION: Lakers 110 – Blazers 92
