More than usual, it’s been a newsworthy week for the Los Angeles Lakers.
On Monday afternoon, general manager Rob Pelinka and the Lakers’ front office pulled the trigger on a trade that brought in former No. 9 overall pick Rui Hachimura from the Washington Wizards. A day later, LeBron James notched 46 points in a loss to the LA Clippers to officially own a 40-point game against each of the 30 NBA teams. And later today, the Lakers are set to get their superstar big man Anthony Davis back in the lineup as they face the San Antonio Spurs, barring any setbacks.
The Lakers and Spurs are two of the Western Conference’s bottom three teams in the standings, but when healthy, there’s no denying that Los Angeles’ potential is exponentially greater. With Davis’ return, betting on this Wednesday matchup should be pretty simple.
L.A. Lakers star big man Anthony Davis will return to the lineup Wednesday vs. SAS, barring any setback during his pregame warmup, league sources told ESPN. He will be back in the lineup 5 1/2 weeks after suffering a fractured bone spur and stress reaction in his right foot
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) January 25, 2023
First, make sure to bet the over on the game’s total points. San Antonio allows the most (122.0) and Los Angeles allows the fourth-worst (118.3) points per game to opponents. The Lakers haven’t given up fewer than 110 points in 10 straight games, including five straight of 120 points or more. Meanwhile, Spurs’ opponents have reached 130 points or more in five of six games. So, count on this one being a high-scoring affair.
Another safe bet to make is that the Lakers cover the spread. They’ve already beaten the Spurs three times this year, and Los Angeles won each by double-digits in the two matchups in which Davis was available. Winning by more than 7.5 points against an even worse San Antonio team than the last time the two met shouldn’t be an issue.
And finally, you can’t bet on this game properly without betting on Anthony Davis, the talking point of the matchup. He’ll likely be on a minutes restriction and will work through some rust, so don’t get your hopes up for an explosive return. In fact, I’d bet the under on his points (18.5) and rebounds (8.5) props for Wednesday’s game.
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