The Brooklyn Nets will head out to the Golden Coast to tip off with the surging Los Angeles Lakers! Join us for our NBA odds series where our Nets-Lakers prediction and pick will be revealed.

After a disheartening 105-103 defeat at the hands of the Portland Trail Blazers, the Nets have quickly fallen into quicksand and are sinking fast. As it stands, Brooklyn has lost four consecutive games and have seen their record fall to 16-24 including a lousy 6-14 mark on the road. Approaching the halfway mark of the regular season, Brooklyn will need to put the metal to the pedal in a hurry before it becomes too late.

Meanwhile, the Lakers have secured a couple of big-time victories against Western Conference playoff contenders with back-to-back wins over the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Dallas Mavericks. Alas, Los Angeles still has lots of work to do with their dead-even 21-21 record, but the recent success showcases that the Lakers aren't completely irrelevant in the playoff chase out west. Overall, LA has won three of their last five games and could be heading in the right direction at the perfect time.

Here are the NBA odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

NBA Odds: Nets-Lakers Odds

Brooklyn Nets: +6.5 (-106)

Moneyline: +235

Los Angeles Lakers: -6.5 (-114)

Moneyline: -290

Over: 230.5 (-110)

Under: 230.5 (-110)

How to Watch Nets vs. Lakers

Time: 10:30 ET/7:30 PT

TV: ESPN

Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)

Why The Nets Could Cover The Spread/Win

Could this ship be sinking faster than the Titanic in 1912 after hitting an iceberg? While that might be a dramatic question, the Nets have certainly seen better times. Currently licking their wounds, it will be vital for Brooklyn to make a return to the win column and improve upon their poor offensive play in the month of January.

For starters, losing to the lowly Trail Blazers for the second time this month surely left the Nets with a sour taste in their mouths, and nothing more would eliminate that than a hard-earned victory against the Lakers. However, in order to accomplish such a feat, Brooklyn will need to make it a priority to improve their efficiency on the offensive side of the floor. At a glance, Brooklyn has failed to reach the 110-point mark in their last three games and are having an extreme amount of difficulty finding nylon with the basketball. To make matters worse, it was Portland that exposed Brooklyn in the rebounding department and also capitalized on the Nets' sloppiness leading to 19 points off of turnovers.

As a whole, the Nets haven't been a squad that thrives on the road, and making sure they get off to a swift start out of the gates of this one will provide some much-needed momentum to catapult themselves over the Lakers in this inter-conference contest.

Alas, be on the lookout for forward Mikal Bridges and Spencer Dinwiddie to be the one-two scoring bunch for Brooklyn. At the end of the day, these two will need to be at their best if the Nets are planning on snapping out of their offensive funk.

Why The Lakers Could Cover The Spread/Win

Have the Lakers found themselves over the past several days? Indeed, there's no doubt that LA has drawn up a formula of success and instilled a gleam of hope in their mini two-game winning streak. Backed by the home crowd in this one, don't put it past the Lakers to continue down the path of their newfound success!

Above all else, the most important discovery that the Lakers have made is in the form of a formidable starting lineup that could be a recipe for success moving forward. On paper, the combination of D'Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, LeBron James, Taurean Prince, and Anthony Davis has been handling their business. Specifically enough, Russell has been a major contributing factor and looks like the place that Los Angeles envisioned him to be for this franchise when they re-acquired him via trade back during the 2022-2023 regular season. Throughout the span of his last three games, it has been the former Ohio State standout who has scored at least 25 points twice and is almost averaging 16 points per contest.

Furthermore, Anthony Davis has been clicking at an All-Star level pace as he is fresh off of recording 29 points on 55% shooting from the floor in the win over Dallas. Oftentimes, the Lakers can go only as far as their big man can take them. As long as Davis avoids being passive and spends a good amount of time as the enforcer, then the Lakers will be in pretty good shape.

Final Nets-Lakers Prediction & Pick

Don't overthink this one. While the Nets could be due for a stellar outing, both of these teams seem to be heading in opposite directions which makes the Lakers a more reliable pick.

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Final Nets-Lakers Prediction & Pick: Lakers -6.5 (-114)