The Los Angeles Lakers (29-38) host the Toronto Raptors (37-30) Monday at the Crypto.com Arena for a 10:30 p.m. ET tip-off. Below, we look at the Raptors vs. Lakers odds and lines, and make our expert NBA picks, predictions and bets.
Toronto has won three consecutive games — 3-0 against the spread (ATS) — which includes road victories at the San Antonio Spurs Wednesday (119-104), Phoenix Suns Friday (117-112) and Denver Nuggets Saturday (127-115).
L.A. is just 2-7 straight up (SU) and 2-6-1 ATS since the All-Star break with the latest being a 140-111 blowout loss at home to the Suns Sunday night. LeBron James scored 50 and 56 points in the Lakers’ only two wins since the All-Star game.
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Raptors 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 3:34 p.m. ET.
- Money line (ML): Raptors -205 (bet $205 to win $100) | Lakers +165 (bet $100 to win $165)
- Against the spread: Raptors -4.5 (-120) | Lakers +4.5 (-105)
- Over/Under (O/U): 224.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
Raptors at Lakers key injuries
Raptors
- SF OG Anunoby (hand) out
- PG Fred VanVleet (knee) questionable
Lakers
- PF Anthony Davis (ankle) out
[tipico]
Raptors at Lakers odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Raptors 119, Lakers 108
Money line
PASS even though Toronto should beat L.A. with relative ease because VanVleet is listed as “questionable”.
Toronto is a much better team with VanVleet in the lineup and there’s no way I’d want a Raptors (-205) bet in my account if VanVleet misses Monday’s game.
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Against the spread
BET the RAPTORS -4.5 (-120) because this is a terrible matchup for the Lakers.
Toronto applies mad ball pressure and crashes the offensive glass. L.A. is 24th in offensive turnover rate (TOV%) and 27th in points off turnovers allowed per game. Also, the Lakers are 22nd in defensive rebounding rate and 21st in second-chance points per game (PPG) allowed.
The bottom line is the Raptors are all effort and energy whereas the Lakers consistently put up lackadaisical performances and need LeBron heroics to pull them out of ruts.
Finally, this is a better spot for the Raptors who are 7-3 ATS as road favorites and 8-7 ATS on the road versus teams with a losing record. The Lakers are 15-21 ATS at home and 5-8-1 ATS at home versus teams with a winning record.
BET RAPTORS -4.5 (-120) for 1 unit.
Over/Under
PASS since there isn’t a big enough margin between my prediction and the projected total.
I lean to the Over 224.5 (-110) because all three referees assigned to this game have officiated more to the Over, but this L.A. offense really struggles if LeBron isn’t playing well.
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