The Washington Wizards (29-35) play their second straight game at Crypto.com Arena Friday when they meet the Los Angeles Lakers (28-37) at 10:30 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Wizards vs. Lakers odds and lines, and make our expert NBA picks, predictions and bets.
Washington has alternated between winning and losing over its last five games with the most recent being a 115-109 loss at the Los Angeles Clippers as a 4.5-point road underdog Wednesday. The Wizards are 2-4 straight up (SU) and 3-3 against the spread (ATS) following the All-Star Game.
L.A. was upset on the road by the Houston Rockets 139-130 in overtime Wednesday as a 7.5-point road underdog for its second consecutive loss. The Lakers are 1-6 SU and 1-5-1 ATS since the All-Star break.
Wizards 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 2:34 p.m. ET.
- Money line (ML): Wizards +145 (bet $100 to win $145) | Lakers -180 (bet $180 to win $100)
- Against the spread: Wizards +4.5 (-115) | Lakers -4.5 (-107)
- Over/Under (O/U): 228.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
Wizards at Lakers key injuries
Wizards
- None
Lakers
- PF Anthony Davis (ankle) out
- SF LeBron James (hamstring) questionable
- SG Malik Monk (shoulder) probable
[tipico]
Wizards at Lakers odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Wizards 117, Lakers 113
Money line
SPRINKLE on the WIZARDS (+145) because their spread is a sharp play and there’s some value on the underdog’s ML here.
These teams have completely different vibes at the moment. Washington is fighting for its playoff lives and sits 11th in the East currently, 1.5 games behind the Atlanta Hawks and Charlotte Hornets for the final play-in spot.
The eyeball test tells me the Wizards are fighting for playoff contention while the Lakers are moping through the regular season. LeBron looks disinterested, this PG Russell Westbrook thing has been an abject failure and who knows when L.A.’s most impactful player (Davis) returns to action.
A couple of current Wizards’ starters from L.A.’s title-winning team (SF Kyle Kuzma and SG Kentavious Caldwell-Pope) were shipped to the nation’s capital for Westbrook this past offseason. So we have revenge games for both Kuzma and KCP.
SPRINKLE on the WIZARDS (+145), if you play the money line (ML) at all, with the plan of betting their spread harder.
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Against the spread
Definitely BET the WIZARDS +4.5 (-115) heavier than or instead of their ML because of the aforementioned analysis and since there’s some reverse line movement in Washington’s direction.
More than 70% of the cash is on the Lakers -4.5 (-107) but they’ve gone from a 5-point opening favorite down to the current number according to pregame.com. It would appear as though the oddsmakers are trying to entice more pro-L.A. action.
L.A. still has LeBron whose shown the ability to will the Lakers past much better teams than the Wizards so it’s better to be safe than sorry and BET the WIZARDS +4.5 (-115).
Over/Under
Slight LEAN to the OVER 228.5 (-110) because the Wizards are scoring 11.4 more points per game (PPG) post-All-Star break and the Lakers are allowing 7.7 more PPG over that span.
Washington is 4-0 O/U in the last four games, L.A. is 3-1 O/U in the last four games and both teams have a combined 38-27 O/U record when playing teams with a losing record.
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