The Sacramento Kings (16-22) head down the coast Tuesday to play the Los Angeles Lakers (19-19) at Crypto.com Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 10:30 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Kings vs. Lakers odds and lines, and make our expert NBA picks, predictions and bets.
Sacramento has won three of its past four games including the most recent when it beat the Miami Heat 115-113 as a 3.5-point underdog Sunday.
Sactown is 3-3 straight-up (SU), 3-3 ATS and 3-3 O/U over the last two weeks with the third-worst non-garbage time net rating at minus-8.3 points per 100 possessions, according to CleaningTheGlass.com (CTG).
L.A. has also won three of its last four games with the latest being a 108-103 victory Sunday over the Minnesota Timberwolves as a 7-point home favorite.
The Lakers are 3-4 SU, 3-4 ATS and 4-3 O/U over the last 14 days with the 19th-ranked non-garbage time net rating at minus-2.0 points per 100 possessions (per CTG).
These teams split the first two meetings this season with the road team winning and covering both.
Also see: Bet Slippin’ Podcast: NBA January 4 breakdown
Kings at Lakers 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 4:22 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Kings +225 (bet $100 to win $225) | Lakers -290 (bet $290 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Kings +6.5 (-110) | Lakers -6.5 (-110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 230.5 (O: -112 | U: -108)
PLAY: Free, daily sports pick’em contests. Play now!
Kings at Lakers key injuries
Kings
- C Richaun Holmes (health and safety protocols) out
- SF Terence Davis (ankle) out
Lakers
- SF LeBron James (abdomen) probable
- SG Avery Bradley (neck) probable
- SG Kendrick Nunn (health and safety protocols) out
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!
Kings at Lakers odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Lakers 114, Kings 110
Money line
PASS with a heavy “lean” towards the Kings (+225) because I like Sactown plus the points and generally will sprinkle on an underdog’s money line when betting them to cover. Plus the Kings (+225) is a fat payout.
However, I don’t want to fade LeBron James given how good he’s played recently. LeBron is scoring 34.8 points per game on 56.8% shooting with 10.4 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game over his last eight games.
Against the spread
BET the KINGS +6.5 (-110) because they have covered four straight meetings with the Lakers in L.A. Also, both teams are in the bottom 10 of adjusted net rating but Sacramento plays a little better versus bad teams.
The Kings have a slightly better winning percentage against bottom-10 teams than the Lakers (76.9-71.4%), a better efficiency differential (plus-7.2 net rating to plus-4.2 net rating) and a much better spread differential (plus-5.4 ATS margin to minus-1.5 ATS margin), per CTG.
Furthermore, L.A. is 4-9 ATS when favored 5 or more points and 4-9 ATS at home vs. teams with a winning record whereas Sactown is 3-3 ATS when getting spotted between 5-7 points. More importantly, the Lakers have the third-worst cover rate at home at 7-15 ATS with a minus-4.8 ATS margin.
BET the KINGS +6.5 (-110).
Over/Under
PASS because I get mixed signals when I sift through the information on this Kings-Lakers total.
For example, both teams are in the bottom 10 of offensive rating and the Under has cashed in three of the past four Kings-Lakers meetings. However, L.A. is 13-9 O/U at home, Sactown is 10-6 O/U on the road and both teams play at a top-six pace.
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]