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The Los Angeles Lakers will take on the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night. It's time to continue our NBA odds series and make a Lakers-Suns prediction and pick.
This game is far more important for the Lakers than it is for the Suns. Los Angeles is two games behind the San Antonio Spurs, who are currently in the tenth seed in the Western Conference. The Lakers pretty much need to run the table if they want to make the postseason. Making this game even more important is the fact that the Spurs are playing the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday, a game they could certainly lose. The Suns, on the other hand, don't have much of anything on the line here. Phoenix has already clinched the first seed in the conference, but they would surely love to play spoiler to the same Lakers team they knocked out of the playoffs last season.
Here are the Lakers-Suns NBA odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NBA Odds: Lakers-Suns Odds
Los Angeles Lakers: +12.5 (-112)
Phoenix Suns: -12.5 (-108)
Over: 234.5 (-110)
Under: 234.5 (-110)
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Why The Lakers Could Cover The Spread
The Lakers' chances of covering here lie with Anthony Davis. Los Angeles will be playing without LeBron James, meaning they'll likely deploy a starting five of Russell Westbrook, Malik Monk, Trevor Ariza, Stanley Johnson, and Davis. That lineup will have trouble generating any sort of scoring unless Davis has a monster game. Luckily, Davis is more than capable of doing just that. The first time these teams played, Davis went off for a 24-point double-double. Now that James is off the floor, he should be touching the ball on every possession while playing 40 or more minutes. A monster performance from Davis could be enough for the Lakers to scrape out a cover against the best team in the NBA.
One has to wonder how much time the Suns' starters will play in this game. Phoenix literally cannot improve its current position no matter what happens, and this game is likely to be a blowout. With both of those factors in mind, it wouldn't be a surprise to see the Suns put their bench players in for much of the fourth quarter. The Lakers should be fighting to the very end of the game given the importance of this contest, so if Phoenix pulls their starters, it's not out of the question that the Lakers could stage a small comeback to pull off a cover.
Why The Suns Could Cover The Spread
This Lakers squad shouldn't present any sort of challenge to the Suns. These teams have played each other three times already, and the Suns have won each meeting. Phoenix won two of those three games by 18 points or more, and those were games that LeBron James played in. Now they face a Lakers lineup that looks like one of the worst in the NBA. Los Angeles has lost six straight games, and they will very likely lose a seventh in blowout fashion on Tuesday.
The fact that this game is in Phoenix will help the Suns tremendously. The Suns have been elite when playing on their home floor, earning a 31-8 record in Footprint Center. The Lakers have been absolutely abysmal on the road, posting a 11-27 mark compared to an even 20-20 home record. The Suns have every advantage in this game, and the fact that this contest will take place on their home court will only make things easier for them.
Final Lakers-Suns Prediction & Pick
This is one of the easiest picks of the night. It's surprising that Phoenix isn't favored by even more here against a terrible Lakers team. There is a small chance Los Angeles sneaks a cover in like they recently did against the Utah Jazz, but the Suns should dominate this game in every way. Lock in Phoenix and don't look back.
Final Lakers-Pelicans Pick: Phoenix Suns: -12.5 (-108)
