Lakers vs. 76ers Betting Preview: L.A. Has Value in Battle of Elite Bigs

Lakers vs. 76ers Odds

Lakers Odds	+5
76ers Odds	-5
Over/Under	227.5
Time	7:30 p.m. ET
TV	ESPN
Odds via PointsBet. Get up-to-the-minute NBA odds here.

The Los Angeles Lakers are finally starting to figure some things out, and their recent run of good play will be once again put to the test in a road matchup with Philly.

The Philadelphia 76ers have been slipping of late and could represent a great candidate for L.A. to build a new winning streak. With Anthony Davis and LeBron James expected back, is the underdog worth a look here?

Let’s discuss with a look at the numbers below.

Lakers Are Still Formidable When Healthy

While the Lakers do technically enter this game on a two-game losing streak, it’s hardly an indictment on how they’ve played of late. Entering play on Tuesday, the Lakers had won eight of 10 and were off to a splendid start on their road trip with wins in Milwaukee and Washington D.C.

Then, Anthony Davis was yanked from that night’s game in Cleveland with a non-COVID illness and L.A. eventually fell by 14 despite hanging around in the second half and even briefly leading the game. Then, with Davis still shelved, the Lakers decided to rest both him and James on the road in Toronto.

Both Davis and James, as I noted above, are probable for this game. That’s splendid news given the fact that the Lakers were one of the most fun teams to bet on prior to this little two game blip. After beginning the year 2-10 against the spread (and straight up), the Lakers have now gone 7-4-1 ATS in their last 12, per Bet Labs.

In that span, L.A. has the 12th-best defense in the NBA and the sixth-best offense. It is also ninth in rebounding and has maintained its incredibly fast Pace. The turnaround has been a drastic one for a team sitting in the bottom third of the NBA in both offense and rebounding for the entire season.

During that time, the Lakers are also ranked fifth in field goals attempted per game inside of eight feet and have converted on a solid 62.8% of looks, ranking 11th.

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76ers Aren’t Intimidating Inside

We know the bread and butter of the Lakers is interior scoring, and that’s a bit troublesome if you’re a believer in the Sixers tonight. On the season they’re allowing 63.3% shooting inside of 8 feet, which is the third-worst mark in the league. Philly has guarded long 2-point jumpshots and 3-pointers very well this year, but against the Lakers that’s really not going to be a giant factor.

Rebounding has also been a massive problem for the Sixers. They rank 28th in Rebounding Rate to this point in the season, and while they’ve had to play without Joel Embiid for a while, they have grabbed just 47.4% of available rebounds with the big man on the floor this season. Without him? That number jumps to a sparkling 47.8%. This team is getting smoked on the glass, and Embiid doesn’t seem to be a factor one way or the other. In fact, it would seem he’s actually hurting Philly out there.

Georges Niang remains out for the Sixers along with Tyrese Maxey, and Danuel House is now questionable for this one with a left foot laceration. That could throw some cold water on an already room temperature offense which has done just one thing well, and that’s hit 3s.

Lakers-76ers Pick

I think the Lakers are for real right now, and I was actually incredibly impressed by their resolve in Cleveland after losing Davis earlier this week. Thomas Bryant looked like an above average NBA player and the team found ways to score despite still lacking shooting of any kind.

With Davis back, I think the Lakers snap right back into form. The Sixers are weak inside and struggle to rebound, and that’s going to play right into L.A.’s hands here. This is a very physical team which has no choice but to score inside and get offensive rebounds. Philadelphia seems to have no defense against this.

Give me the points with L.A., and I’d actually be comfortable playing this to a pick ’em. I believe the Lakers will win here.

Pick: Lakers +5 (-110)