The NBA regular season continues with games on Wednesday. The Los Angeles Lakers will travel to take on the Sacramento Kings in a West Coast battle. It's time to continue our NBA odds series and make a Lakers-Kings prediction and pick.
These two teams have had somewhat different starts to the season. The Los Angeles Lakers are 21-20 and have won four of their last five games. While the Sacramento Kings are 16-27 and have lost their last five games. This should be interesting between two teams trending in opposite directions.
Here are the Lakers-Kings NBA odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NBA Odds: Lakers-Kings Odds
Los Angeles Lakers: -4.5 (-106)
Sacramento Kings: +4.5 (-114)
Over: 230.5 (-110)
Under: 230.5 (-110)
*Watch NBA games LIVE with fuboTV (click for free trial)*
Why The Lakers Could Cover The Spread
The Los Angeles Lakers have had a roller coaster of a season. They started off extremely shaky, but have seemingly hit their stride at the midpoint of the season. Through the first half of the year, the Lakers have managed to squeak out a winning record with 21 wins and 20 losses. Los Angeles has managed to win four of their last five games but is coming off an 8-point loss to the Grizzlies. The Lakers will look to get back on track on Wednesday as they face a beatable Kings team. LA should be able to come out ahead in this match, they just need to keep playing solid basketball.
The Lakers made a fourth-quarter run against the Grizzlies, but it was too little too late. Memphis had the edge across most metrics in that match. The Lakers put up 97 shots, but only made 45. The Grizzlies made more shots, 47, on fewer attempts, 87. This efficiency from Memphis was a big reason the Lakers came up short. Additionally, the Lakers allowed the Grizzlies to get to the line 32 times while LA only shot 19 free throws. This potential 13 point discrepancy was tough for the Lakers to overcome. The main key for LA to win on Wednesday is to stop the Kings from getting to the line.
While COVID and injuries are impacting every team in the league, the Lakers currently only have three players listed on the injury report. However, two of those three players are LeBron and AD. AD has been out with a sprained MCL since mid-December, but LeBron is a new addition to the report. LeBron is listed as day-to-day and will be questionable for Wednesday's game. Whether or not King James plays will have a tremendous impact on the outcome of the game. If he is on the court the Lakers have a significantly better chance of winning.
Why The Kings Could Cover The Spread
The Sacramento Kings have had a disappointing season thus far. Through the first half of the year, they have a losing record with only 16 wins and 27 losses. The Kings are on a tough losing streak, having dropped their last five games. Sacramento's most recent defeat came at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers by one point. The Kings were unable to pull off the comeback but came very close. Sacramento will need to come into this game stronger than they did their last. If they can do that and carry the momentum they had at the end of their last match then the Kings could win this West coast battle.
The Kings actually played a very solid game against the Cavs. Sacramento made more threes and free throws than the Cavs but made fewer overall shots. The Kings were outscored in the first two quarters but managed to outscore the Cavs in both the third and fourth quarters. If Sacramento had started that game better, then they would have been able to walk away victorious. This team is capable of beating the Lakers, they just need to play hard for the entire game not just half of a game.
The biggest point of optimism for this Kings team is the current lack of unavailable players. While nearly every team in the league is dealing with COVID and injuries, the Kings are largely unaffected. Sacramento only has two players listed on their injury report. Damian Jones is still in the league's health and safety protocols and will be out for Wednesday's contest. Tristan Thompson is day-to-day and listed as questionable for Wednesday's game. This silver lining could be the difference-maker for this match. The Kings are healthy, and if they come into this game ready they could emerge victorious.
Final Lakers-Kings Prediction & Pick
This game could end up being very close. If LeBron doesn't play then the Kings have a real shot of coming out ahead in this match. However, the Lakers have plenty of other options to turn to if King James is out. The spread is small enough that the Lakers are a good pick here. Pick Los Angeles to win and cover.
FINAL LAKERS-KINGS PICK: Los Angeles Lakers -4.5 (-106)
FINAL LAKERS-KINGS SCORE PREDICTION: Lakers 117 – Kings 111
Follow Us
Subscribe