Los Angeles Lakers (0-1) vs Los Angeles Clippers (0-0)
Game Info: Thursday, October 20, 2022 at 10:00 pm (Crypto.com Arena)
Betting Odds: Los Angeles Lakers +5.5 -- Over/Under: 223.5 Click Here for the Latest Odds
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The Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers meet Thursday in NBA action at the crypto.com Arena. The Los Angeles Clippers have won 6 of their last 8 regular season openers. The Los Angeles Lakers look to rebound after losing their opener to the Warriors.
The Los Angeles Clippers are coming off a 42-win season and enter the third year under coach Tyronn Lue. The Clippers will finally have their 1-2 punch of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, which drastically increases their ceiling. The thing that makes the Clippers legit title contenders is their depth of Reggie Jackson, Marcus Morris Sr., John Wall, Norman Powell, Luke Kenard, Terance Mann and Ivica Zubac. The Clippers are stacked with quality players, and they have one of the better star duos leading the way. The Clippers have failed to reach expectations in the past, but this is their best team in franchise history on paper, and they’re my preseason pick to come out of the west. I’m very high on this Clippers squad.
The Los Angeles Lakers are averaging 109 points on 42.6 percent shooting and allowing 123 points on 45.5 percent shooting. LeBron James is averaging 31 points and 14 rebounds, while Anthony Davis is averaging 27 points and 6 rebounds. Russell Westbrook is the third double-digit scorer and Kendrick Nunn is grabbing 3 rebounds. The Los Angeles Lakers are shooting 25 percent from beyond the arc and 76 percent from the free throw line. The Los Angeles Lakers are allowing 35.6 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 48 rebounds per game.
The Clippers are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 road games and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall. The Lakers are 2-7 ATS in their last 9 Thursday games. The over is 4-0-1 in Clippers last 5 road games. The over is 10-4 in Lakers last 14 overall. The Clippers are 10-1 ATS in the last 11 meetings in Los Angeles and 35-17 ATS in the last 52 meetings.
The Los Angeles Lakers just aren't a good basketball team to put it kindly, as they have no depth outside of their big 3 and their shooting is horrendous. Heck, LeBron admitted after their opening season loss that they have no shooting. On paper, the Los Angeles Clippers are the best team in the league in my eyes, and they're as healthy as any team in the league. Give me the Clippers.
Randy’s Pick Los Angeles Clippers -5.5
AUTHOR: Randy Chambers
Follow Randy Chambers on Twitter @WizardOf0dds