The dysfunctional Los Angeles Lakers will overshadow the recent struggles of the Golden State Warriors when the Pacific Division rivals meet in primetime on Saturday. LA suffered its third straight loss since the All-Star break but at least they put up a fight in their 109-104 setback to Dallas. That came a few days after the team was booed off the court in an embarrassing loss to the Pelicans. Once feared, especially in their home arena, the Lakers are in danger of missing the postseason after dropping 10 of 13 games. The Warriors are in a rut with a loss to Minnesota on Tuesday their sixth in eight games.
The NBA matchup between the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers will air live on ABC on Saturday, March 5, 2022 with tip off at 8:30 p.m. ET from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA. BookMaker.eu will have betting options for every game on the NBA schedule.
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Odds Analysis
The recent run of poor play will come with an asterisk. The Warriors are playing shorthanded, but they won’t get any sympathy from other teams around the league. You still have to play the games and until the wounded players return the stretch could be extended. The Dubs surrendered a big lead to Denver in their final game before the All-Star break and just last weekend squandered another double digit advantage succumbing to the Mavericks. Playing as the favorite in their last seven games the Warriors are 2-5 SU and 1-6 ATS. One of those victories was a narrow 117-115 decision over the Lakers, Golden State’s second in as many games against LA this season.
I’m not sure what to say about the Lakers at this point. LeBron James and Russell Westbrook keep saying they can make a run and win some games. Their play on the court suggests otherwise. The Lakers haven’t won consecutive games since a season-best four-game winning streak in early January. At that point they were two games over .500. Since then they’ve gone 6-15 and are barely holding onto a play-in spot. Their loss to Dallas on Tuesday was their third straight at home dropping them to 18-16 SU and 13-21 ATS when playing as the home team.
Golden State Warriors
Every team has dealt or is dealing with roster issues, and the Warriors are no exception. They’ve slumped defensively since Draymond Green was shelved and Klay Thompson has yet to play pre-injury minutes while missing the past few games with an illness. The good news is that Klay should be back in time for this game adding another offensive threat to go along with Steph Curry. They haven’t been as dangerous offensively as they were in the past with defense leading the charge earlier in the season.
The Dubs average nearly 111 points, but they’ve been a top team defensively most of the year. That hasn’t prevented them from blowing big leads recently to Dallas and Denver and surrendering a season-high 129 points in a loss to Minnesota. “We’ve had a lot of shuffling. It’s not an excuse for how we’re playing, but we are built as a full team. And until we get that, I’m not sure we’ll see our full ceiling, but we have to do the little things in the meantime,” Curry said.
Los Angeles Lakers
Westbrook has been so bad the Lakers were reportedly trying to deal him at the deadline. When nothing materialized the team worked on a separation agreement or at least a benching if he remains. The former MVP has fallen hard in his first year in LA. Granted, the expectations were sky high for the local boy returning home, but that’s no excuse for a season long run of poor play. Westbrook averages 18.1 points and he’s never been a good shooter relying more on volume to get his points. But when you connect on just 28.6 percent from behind the arc, your numbers and the team’s numbers will suffer.
I kept waiting for the Lakers to string some wins together but it hasn’t happened. At this point they are who they are. While they may make the play-in tournament, there isn’t a lot of confidence they can go deep in the postseason. And just getting there is going to be a battle the rest of the season. James and Westbrook continue to say the team will put it together, but at this point everybody has stopped listening.
Warriors at Lakers NBA Odds Pick
They’ve played the Warriors tight in a couple of losses so there is hope for the Lakers. And they played a better game Tuesday against Dallas than they did in their 28-point loss to New Orleans. Still, they just don’t have the fight, and while they will win some games over the rest of the season, they won’t beat the Warriors on Saturday.
NBA Odds Prediction: Golden State Warriors / UNDER
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