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The slumping Los Angeles Lakers will travel to “The Six” to take on the streaking Toronto Raptors on Friday evening. It is about time we dive into our NBA odds series with a Lakers-Raptors prediction and pick.
The Lakers nightmare of a season seems to be never-ending, as LA's bubble championship in 2020 feels like a lifetime ago. Los Angeles currently sits at 29-40, good for ninth in the Western Conference. Believe it or not, the lousy Lakers are only one game ahead of the New Orleans Pelicans in the tenth and final playoff spot and are two and a half games up on the San Antonio Spurs, who currently are on the outside looking. LA has lost three straight contests and are 2-8 in their previous ten matchups. To put it lightly, the 13 remaining games on the Lakers' regular-season slate are of utmost importance, as LeBron and company's playoff chances are in serious jeopardy.
The opposite couldn't be more true in Toronto, as the Raptors are getting hot at the most opportunistic time and are now sitting tied for the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference with the Cleveland Cavaliers after reeling off five consecutive victories. Toronto now heads into the last few weeks of the regular season with a 39-30 record, including key remaining matchups versus the Cavs, Sixers, and Bulls.
Here are the Lakers-Raptors NBA odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NBA odds: Lakers-Raptors Odds
Los Angeles Lakers: +9 (-110)
Toronto Raptors: -9 (-110)
Over: 224.5 (-110)
Under: 224.5 (-110)
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Why the Lakers Could Cover the Spread
Hollywood hasn't seen such an abomination since the 1997 Batman and Robin film, and that is quite strong statement. On Oct. 20th, 2020, the Lakers were Kings of the Hill, standing alone on the mountain top of forever greatness. Since that fateful moment roughly a year and a half ago, one of the NBA's greatest franchises have been on an accelerated downfall, filled with insurmountable injuries to key pieces and boiling frustration after nearly two seasons of consistent losing.
LeBron James is still playing like one of the elite players in the world and is 3rd in the NBA in scoring with 29.5 PPG, but even the few that rise to the cream of the crop need a solid supporting cast in order to be successful. With Anthony Davis sidelined until at least the Play-In Tournament and the Russell Westbrook experiment proving to be an absolute disaster, the Lakers lack production at almost every position on the floor.
Despite this, King James can will his squad to win whenever he decides to suit up, even if wins are becoming rare within the City of Angels. During these two teams' last meeting only a few days ago, the Raptors had their way with the Lakers in large part due to their physicality, out-rebounding LA 64-43. James dropped 30 points on 11/19 shooting in the loss at home, but the production from the Laker role players was not present. In order for the Lakers to cover the spread on Friday, they will need Russell Westbrook to be his 2016-2017 MVP self, which has been hard to come by nearly six years later.
Other names that will need to step up include Carmelo Anthony, Malik Monk, and Talen Horton-Tucker. Los Angeles is capable of getting hot any night, and the previous matchup against Toronto may prove to be beneficial in the Lakers making adjustments and coming out with a much-needed road victory.
Why the Raptors Could Cover the Spread
One of the obvious reasons that the Raptors could cover the spread is that they're on a winning streak AND are fortunate to play the Lakers at home, where LA has been horrendous on the road compiling a 9-23 record. Even though the Raptors have been just average at Scotiabank Arena, it has generally been a tough environment in years' past for visiting teams to come in and get a win.
Toronto also wrapped up their recent road trip by winning out, going 5-0, and now hold the NBA's longest current win streak. Surprisingly, Toronto only sits 3.5 games back of Philadelphia of the first-place Sixers in the Atlantic division. After putting up 31 points on 13/22 shooting while hitting three of five 3-point shots in the process, star forward Pascal Siakam is now being dubbed as “Pascalifornia” after the Raptors won out on the west coast in dominating fashion.
Siakam will also be a huge factor in Toronto covering the spread, as he has scored at least 20 points in his last eight games. Toronto is 5-0-0 ATS during their five-game winning streak and will be eager to make it 6-0-0 versus a below-average Lakers bunch. The Raptors and Lakers are two teams going in exact opposite directions to close out the regular season, and as we look onto the horizon that is playoff basketball, it is hard to imagine that Toronto doesn't take care of business on Friday night.
Final Lakers-Raptors Prediction & Pick
This should be an easy pick, as there is no one in their right state of mind that should put their money on the Lakers right now. Los Angeles is horrible against the spread and are traveling cross-border to Toronto to play one of the hottest teams in the league at the moment. Side with the Raptors and don't dare think twice.
Final Lakers-Raptors Pick: Toronto Raptors -9 (-110)
