The Los Angeles Lakers came out stagnant against the Suns, but quickly turned the game around to win 123-116 Friday night. This will be the first back-to-back of the season for the Lakers, while the Sacramento Kings had Friday off after a 117-115 home loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday.
Sacramento has the rest advantage here, but this will be the Lakers’ third-straight home game, so they haven’t traveled anywhere yet. Anthony Davis has been on fire for Los Angeles through two games with 71 points, 24 rebounds, 8 assists, 5 blocks, and 2 steals, to go along with 32 free-throw attempts. For Sacramento, DeMar DeRozan made his Kings’ debut and scored 26 points with 8 rebounds, but went 0-for-2 in the final two minutes.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on how to catch the opening tip, projected lineups, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
The latest odds as of Saturday morning:● Moneyline: Los Angeles Lakers (-142), Sacramento Kings (+120)● Spread: Lakers -2.5● Total: 232.5
· Los Angeles Lakers
PG D’Angelo RussellSG Austin ReavesSF Rui HachimuraPF LeBron JamesC Anthony Davis
· Sacramento Kings
PG De’Aaron FoxSG Kevin HeurterSF DeMar DeRozanPF Keegan MurrayC Domantas Sabonis
· The Lakers went 41-46 against the spread last season and are 2-0 this year.
· The Lakers were 4-11 ATS (26.7%) last season with no rest, which finished second-worst in the NBA only ahead of the Pacers (3-10).
· The Lakers were 7-13 ATS (35%) last season with a rest disadvantage, fourth-worst in the NBA.
· Sacramento went 14-7-1 ATS (66.7%) last season with a rest advantage, which was the third-best in the NBA.
· The Lakers were 11-3-1 (78.6%) to the Over with no rest last season, finishing with the second-best record to the Over, only behind Minnesota (11-2).
· The Kings were 13-8-1 (61.9%) to the Under with a rest advantage last season, ranking the fourth-best in the NBA to the Under.
· The Kings were 15-8-1 (65.2%) to the Under as an away underdog last season, ranking second-best only behind Boston (3-1).
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our NBA Top Trends Tool on NBC Sports!
Anthony Davis O/U 25.5 PointsLeBron James O/U 23.5 PointsDe’Aaron Fox O/U 23.5 PointsDeMar DeRozan O/U 20.5 Points
Anthony Davis O/U 12.5 ReboundsDomantas Sabonis O/U 12.5 ReboundsLeBron James O/U 7.5 Rebounds
LeBron James O/U 7.5 AssistsDomantas Sabonis O/U 6.5 AssistsD’Angelo Russell O/U 5.5 AssistsDe’Aaron Fox O/U 5.5 AssistsAustin Reaves O/U 5.5 Assists
Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports) likes the Sacramento Kings to hand the Los Angeles Lakers their first loss of the season:
“The Kings have a slight rest advantage here, which could be enough to knock off the 2-0 Lakers from the undefeated ranks.
Los Angeles was 7-13 ATS (35%) and 10-10 on the ML (50%) when they were at a rest disadvantage and even worse 9-14 ML the year prior (9-13-1 ATS). Sacramento went 14-7-1 ATS (66.7%) last season with a rest advantage, which was the third-best mark in the NBA.
Anthony Davis has been amazing for the Lakers thus far (35.5 PPG, 12.0 RPG), but someone else will have to step up here and the 40-year-old LeBron James on the second night of a back-to-back isn’t likely the secondary option in the third game of the season.
The line has been moving slightly in the Kings’ direction and I will buy into that as the Lakers continually disappoint in this spot whereas the Kings excel. Give me Sacramento +2.5 and sprinkle the ML (+120).”
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for the Kings and the Lakers:
· Moneyline: NBC Sports is leaning towards the value of Sacramento’s ML (+120)
· Spread: NBC Sports finds strength towards taking the points with Sacramento
· Total: NBC Sports has minimal confidence towards a play on the Total OVER 232.5 points, making the UNDER 232.5 its better bet on the Total
Want even more NBA best bets and predictions from our expert staff & tools? Check out the EXPERT NBA Predictions page from NBC Sports for money line, spread and total picks for each of the games on today’s calendar!
Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff:
· Jay Croucher (@croucherJD)· Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper)· Vaughn Dalzell (@Vmoneysports)· Brad Thomas (@MrBradThomas)
DISCLAIMER: This site and the products offered are for entertainment purposes only, and there is no gambling offered on this site. This service is intended for adult audiences. No guarantees are made for any specific outcome. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, please call 1-800-GAMBLER.
Ⓒ 2024 NBC Universal
