When the NBA told teams that shifting game times for the Christmas Day schedule was a possibility I’m sure they had the Brooklyn Nets in mind. The Nets are scheduled to play the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday, which would be their first game in a week since their previous three contests were postponed due to COVID and a lack of available players. Earlier in the week the Nets had 10 players in the league’s health and safety protocols, including Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving. The league has vowed not to delay the season and there’s a good chance some if not all of those guys are cleared in time. It will make for some interesting rosters, but it’s a good matchup nonetheless.
The contest between the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers takes place at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, December 25, 2021, from Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA and will air live on ABC. BookMaker.eu will have odds for every game on the Saturday NBA schedule.
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Odds Analysis
Should this game go off it would be exactly one week since the Nets last played. Having a break in the middle of the season is usually a good thing, but in the case of the Nets they have to worry about the virus. As many as 10 players entered the protocols causing the Nets to postpone three games. Their last game was on Saturday, a 100-93 loss to Orlando that ended a four-game losing streak. The Nets still have the best record in the Eastern Conference at 21-9 and they’ve been better on the road than they’ve been at home. They are 8-1 SU and 6-3 ATS in their previous nine road contests. The Lakers are dealing with their own COVID-related issues and probably wish their previous three had been postponed. They lost all three games going 1-2 ATS and are now 16-16 SU and 12-20 ATS.
Brooklyn Nets
All you can do is try and make the best of a bad situation. It seems as though every team has a handful of players in the protocols with some worse off than others. I guess that’s why the Nets had three games postponed. Their starting lineup in their last game consisted of three rookies with Cam Thomas and Kessler Edwards starting for the first time. The other rookie David Duke Jr. was making his third career start. So obviously this isn’t the lineup Steve Nash wants and the Nets aren’t the team oddsmakers have as the favorite to win the NBA title. It also makes the immediate future cloudy. Can the Nets have enough players take the court for a Saturday tilt?
Patty Mills led the Nets in scoring with 23 points against the Magic. He found the silver lining in that game praising the play of the rookies. “Our young boys again being able to every night deliver that same amount of effort. It’s a credit to how much hard work they’ve put in since they’ve been here. You see the caliber of players they are, the depth we has as well. These are all opportunities for all of them to come in and make an impact on an NBA game,” he said.
Los Angeles Lakers
It looked like the Lakers had figured things out and were about to go on a roll. The beat Dallas last week for their third straight victory and sixth in eight games. Then the roof started to cave in. Anthony Davis sustained a knee injury in the next game and it looks like he’ll be out for several weeks. At least it’s not COVID-related, but it stings just the same. AD was having a decent season averaging 23.3 points and 9.9 rebounds. Then four players went on the COVID list as did Frank Vogel. So the Lakers are playing with a shorthanded roster and without their coach.
I’m not sure which team is suffering more at this point. But at least the Lakers have LeBron James and Russell Westbrook available, for now. That didn’t help them in their last game. James scored 34 points on 13 of 19 shooting, but the rest of the club shot just 31 percent in the 108-90 setback. Westbrook has good numbers since AD went down averaging 21 points, 9.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists, but according to acting coach David Fizdale he’s trying to do too much. He committed half of LA’s 14 turnovers against Phoenix and is averaging 6.5 miscues. That’s too much for the team to overcome putting them in compromising positions on defense.
NBA Odds Pick
We have no idea who’s playing in this game, but as of right now I’d have to give the edge to the Lakers with LeBron and Russ still active. Fans of both clubs should hold off throwing down until more information is available. But if you feel the need, backing the Nets wouldn’t be a bad move. KD and Harden have been sequestered the required amount of time and could be activated prior to Saturday. But that’s just a guess.
NBA Odds Prediction: Lakers 104, Nets 97
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