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The Los Angeles Lakers will pay a visit to Arena Name to take on the Phoenix Suns on Saturday night. With that said, it’s a good time to check out our NBA odds series, which includes our Lakers-Suns prediction, odds, and pick we have laid out below.
Los Angeles is coming off a 122-107 home win over the Washington Wizards. LeBron James dropped his second 50-point game of the week after going off for 56 against the Golden State Warriors last Saturday. James' two 50-pieces translated to two wins for the Lakers, but they still dropped a horrible 139-130 overtime loss to the Houston Rockets.
Meanwhile, the Suns lost to the Toronto Raptors, 117-112, in their most recent outing on Friday. Cameron Payne led Phoenix in scoring with 24 points, while Devin Booker finished with 22 points. The Suns went 2-2 this past week, with their other loss coming against their Finals tormentors from last season.
Here is how FanDuel has set the Lakers-Suns NBA odds for this Saturday night NBA matchup.
NBA odds: Lakers–Suns Odds
Los Angeles Lakers: +8.5 (-110)
Phoenix Suns: -8.5 (-110)
Over: 230 (-110)
Under: 230 (-110)
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Why the Lakers could cover the spread
Lakers superstar LeBron James just dropped two 50-plus point performances over the course of the last seven days. He scored a season 56 against the Warriors on March 5 and tallied a 50-piece against the Wizards on Friday. The King has also punched himself into the conversation for the scoring title, where he is in a three-way race with Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo. This could be James' little extra motivation to push through the rest of the season amid this disaster of a campaign for the Lakers.
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However, Los Angeles has tagged James as questionable due to a sore left knee. Nonetheless, he was also listed as such prior to their game against the Wizards — and he proceeded to smoke them for 50 points. Perhaps this is just the Lakers exercising some caution with their franchise superstar. In addition, Talen Horton-Tucker is also questionable with ankle sprain, while Malik Monk is probable due to shoulder soreness. Anthony Davis is still out with a foot sprain, but has gone off the walking boot and is “making progress” as reported by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
The Lakers also have a little bit of history with this squad. The Suns took them out in last year's playoffs and that could serve as extra motivation for Los Angeles on Sunday.
Why the Suns could cover the spread
Phoenix has struggled a bit without their leader and floor general Chris Paul, who is likely done for the regular season with a fractured right thumb. Nonetheless, it's not as if they've completely fallen off. The Suns have stayed afloat and are 5-4 since the All-Star break, which included two games without four games without Devin Booker, who entered health and safety protocols.
Phoenix boasts one of the best home records in the NBA at 28-8, though the team just lost its most recent home outing to the Raptors. Nonetheless, the Suns have shown they are still elite even without Chris Paul. Despite their almost even record without him, they are still no. 4 defensively, which shows how locked in Monty Williams has them on that side of the floor. The Suns have fallen off a bit offensively, ranking just 16th over this stretch.
Booker is certainly carrying a bigger load with the added playmaking duties. But Cameron Payne has done a good job in stepping in to fill some of the void that Paul has left. Since assuming starting duties, the lefty is averaging 16.3 points and 9.7 assists, which are near CP3 numbers.
Final Lakers–Suns Prediction & Pick
It's tough to know which version of the Lakers you're getting on a nightly basis, so Phoenix might be the safer bet here. LeBron James could always pop off, but would the rest of the team come along for the ride? The eight-point spread might sway away some bettors for the Lakers to cover. Still, their inconsistency throughout the season is hard to trust as they can't seem to rattle off two good games in a row.
Final Lakers–Suns Prediction & Pick: Suns: -8.5 (-110)
