The Lakers will be in Brooklyn to face the Nets for the latest edition of Saturday night primetime. Anthony Davis and LeBron remain out of the lineup, but LA does have a healthy Andre Drummond coming into the matchup, which could provide a bit of an advantage, as it did for the team in a narrow loss to Miami the last time they took the floor.
L.A. is sitting at 32-20 for the season and hopes to win as many games as they can as they await the return of their stars. There is still an outside chance that the Lakers end up having to qualify through the play-in tournament. They are 2.5 games ahead of the Mavericks, who occupy the #7 seed for the time being. The Lakers need to stay in the top six.
Brooklyn is as dangerous as any team in the NBA, even if they aren’t even at full strength. Blake Griffin isn’t playing in back-to-backs. James Harden is going to be out for another week. But Kevin Durant is finally back in the fold, and LaMarcus Aldridge is getting comfortable as the starting center. The Nets are not yet in their final form, and when they get there, it will be scary.
Odds: The Nets are heavy favorites, the spread set at BK -11.5. The over/under is set at 228 points.
Lakers Seeking Road Upset
At full strength, this Lakers team is very hard to beat. The only problem is that they are nowhere near that level, so there are some things that they are going to have to figure out. They have managed to stay afloat without their two superstars, so you’ve got to give them a lot of credit for that. But they still need a lot of wins.
L.A. is being tailed by Portland, just one game back of for the #5 seed. Finishing in the 4-5 range likely means a second-round series with Phoenix or Utah, which is not as enjoyable as might be in past years. Phoenix has never been an easy playoff out, while Utah seems to falter every year.
The more games the Lakers can win, the better.
Nets Seek to Take Care of Business
Few folks, if any, are expecting the Nets to lose this game. There will be endless bets on Brooklyn to come away victorious, claiming another win in primetime. They are the hottest ticket in the NBA right now, and to the fans watching them in person, it’s going to be an absolute treat.
KD came off the bench for the first time in his career the other night, his first game played since February 19th. He didn’t miss a shot, finishing 5-5 from the floor, posting a line of 17 points, seven rebounds, and five assists in just 19 minutes of action. He didn’t miss a beat.
Still just 32 years of age, KD has a lot of good basketball left. He, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden will be a likely unstoppable trio come playoff time when all three are healthy.
Nets Secure the W
The game will be close through the first half, but Brooklyn will run away with it later on.
FREE PLAY: BK -11.5
OVER/UNDER: OVER 228
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