The Los Angeles Lakers (23-24) head to Barclays Center Tuesday for a 7:30 p.m. ET game against the Brooklyn Nets (29-17). Below, we look at the Lakers vs. Nets odds and lines, and make our expert NBA picks, predictions and bets.
This is expected to be Lakers F Anthony Davis’ return to action as he’s been sidelined with a knee injury since the middle of December.
Davis returns at a perfect time for L.A. who’s alternated between winning and losing over the last five games with the latest being a 113-107 loss at the Miami Heat as a 4-point road underdog Sunday. The Lakers are 19-28 against the spread (ATS) and 26-20-1 Over/Under (O/U).
Brooklyn had its two-game win streak snapped Sunday after getting routed by the Minnesota Timberwolves 136-125 as a 3-point road underdog. The Nets are 19-27 ATS and 22-24 O/U.
The Nets beat the Lakers 122-115 as 2.5-point underdogs in their first meeting this season on Christmas night. Brooklyn All-Star G James Harden put up a 36-10-10 triple-double and L.A.’s F LeBron James scored a game-high 39 points.
Also see: Bet Slippin’ Podcast: NBA January 25 breakdown
Lakers at Nets odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 3 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Lakers -150 (bet $145 to win $100) | Nets +122 (bet $100 to win $122)
- Against the spread (ATS): Lakers -2.5 (-120) | Nets +2.5 (-105)
- Over/Under (O/U): 225.5 (O: -115 | U: -107)
PLAY: Free, daily sports pick’em contests. Play now!
Lakers at Nets key injuries
Lakers
- PF Anthony Davis (knee) probable
Nets
- SF Kevin Durant (knee) out
- SG Kyrie Irving (ineligible to play) out
- C Nic Claxton (hamstring) questionable
Deposit $10 or more, get $100 in instant bet credits at Tipico Sportsbook! New customer offer in CO and NJ. 21+, see Tipico.com for Terms and Conditions. Place your legal, online sports bets at Tipico. Let’s make this interesting. Bet now!
Lakers at Nets odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Lakers 115, Nets 109
Money line
PASS since I like L.A. to win this game outright but the Lakers (-150) is a little out of my price range.
Against the spread
BET the LAKERS -2.5 (-120) for 1 unit because this is a better spot for L.A. and the main reason why the Nets won their first meeting with the Lakers is because Brooklyn guard Patty Mills went ballistic from 3-point range.
Mills scored a season-high 34 points on 64.7% shooting and sunk 8 of 13 from behind the arc and I’m willing to bet that doesn’t happen again.
AD’s return to the lineup should also improve L.A.’s defense on every level. The Lakers should be able to extend their perimeter defense knowing they have one of the league’s elite rim protectors on the floor.
Furthermore, the Nets are an NBA-worst 5-17-1 ATS at home with a minus-7.0 ATS margin while the Lakers are 6-5 ATS as a road underdog. Brooklyn is 6-11 ATS in non-conference games and L.A. is 10-8 ATS in those spots.
Plus both teams have played terrible defense in Jan. and both perform well against teams in the bottom 10 of adjusted defensive rating.
Each is 13-4 straight-up (SU) versus bottom-10 defenses but the Lakers have a positive ATS margin in those games and Brooklyn has a negative ATS margin, according to CleaningTheGlass.com (CTG).
BET the LAKERS -2.5 (-120).
Over/Under
“LEAN” to the UNDER 225.5 (-107) for a quarter-unit mostly as a fade against a majority of the market that’s betting the Over.
The return of AD should benefit L.A.’s defense more so than its offense and it could take AD a few games to find his groove offensively.
AD coming back also means the Lakers now have three ball-stopping isolation players in their starting 5 (LeBron, AD and G Russell Westbrook). We could see a lot of long possessions of iso-ball.
However, I only “LEAN” to the UNDER 225.5 (-108) because Brooklyn is 27th in adjusted defensive rating over the past two weeks and L.A. is 23rd, per CTG.
Bet legally online with a trusted partner: Tipico Sportsbook, Sportsbook Wire’s official sportsbook partner in CO, NJ and, soon, IA. Bet now!
If you’re looking for more sports betting picks and tips, access all of our content at SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW. Please gamble responsibly.
Follow Geoff Clark on Twitter. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
Additional NBA sports coverage:
HoopsHype | Celtics Wire | LeBron Wire | Lonzo Wire | Nets Wire | Rockets Wire | Sixers Wire | Thunder Wire | Warriors Wire | Rookie Wire | List Wire
Gannett may earn revenue from Tipico for audience referrals to betting services. Tipico has no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. See Tipico.com for Terms and Conditions. 21+ only. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA).
[lawrence-newsletter]
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1622]