For a change there is some good news on the horizon for the Los Angeles Lakers. The team is expecting to have Anthony Davis back in the lineup during their current six-game road trip and his presence could be a factor in slowing down scorching hot Joel Embiid when LA takes on the Philadelphia 76ers in the opening contest of TNT’s Thursday doubleheader. The Sixers jumped back into the thick of the Eastern Conference race with a recent seven-game winning streak. They closed last week knocking off San Antonio for their 11th win in 14 games.
The contest between the Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers takes place at 7:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, January 27, 2022, from Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA and will air live on TNT. BookMaker.eu will have odds for every game on the Thursday NBA schedule.
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Odds Analysis
It’s been a struggle for the Lakers and even the return of AD could do little to fix the mess. The club completely revamped its roster during the offseason with the addition of Russell Westbrook making LA a preseason favorite to win the O’Brien Trophy. Westbrook has had a hard time fitting in and all the new faces never came together. It’s been such a disaster that Frank Vogel could be in danger of losing his job. Now, there is time for the Lakers to make a run and they are only a few games out of a top-six spot in the West. It’s a good thing for them the middle of the conference is average at best. When it seems like they’re about to hit another gear the season gets derailed. They won three in a row in mid-December only to follow that with a five-game losing streak. They won a season-best four straight games earlier this month then proceeded to lose their next three and five of seven. Following their loss to Miami on Sunday they were 23-24 SU and 19-28 ATS.
A recent surge fueled by Embiid got the Sixers back near the top of the East standings. A recent seven-game winning streak got them back in the picture entering the week only two games behind conference leading Miami in the loss column. They bounced back from a crushing 102-101 loss to the Clippers on Friday where they blew a 23-point lead going on the road to tame San Antonio 115-109 for their 11th win in 14 games going 10-4 ATS. Embiid capped a remarkable stretch by scoring 38 points with 12 boards against the Spurs. He scored more than 30 points in 13 of his last 14 games including a 50-point game in a win over Orlando. The Sixers improved to 27-19 SU and 23-22-1 ATS.
Los Angeles Lakers
Things got so bad for Westbrook and the Lakers that the former MVP was benched at the end of a recent loss to Indiana. His response was something that could impact the Lakers in a positive way moving forward. Russ scored 18 points on 8 of 17 shooting with 11 assists in a win over Orlando to start the road trip. The team showed some fight nearly coming back from a big second half deficit against Miami.
While the team struggles LeBron James continues to play at a high level. Since Davis went down 17 games ago, James has tallied at least 25 points in every outing averaging 32.5 points. “I don’t need to score 30 a night, but I’m in one of the best zones offensively I’ve been in in my career,” he said. The Lakers are 7-10 in that stretch.
Philadelphia 76ers
The only player scoring more than James over the past several weeks is Embiid, who’s been in his own zone. And unlike LeBron, Embiid has helped the Sixers win a majority of their games. Embiid had 38 points and 12 rebounds against the Spurs on Sunday extending his run of scoring at least 25 points to 14 straight games. The Sixers are 11-3 SU and 10-4 ATS in that span.
Embiid has almost been forced to pick up the scoring slack with several players on the shelf and their availability for Thursday’s game in question. Seth Curry, Danny Green, Matisse Thybulle and Shake Milton have all missed games due to injury. Over a three-game stretch that ended in San Antonio, Embiid averaged 42.7 points and 12.3 rebounds while playing around 32 minutes per game.
NBA Odds Pick
Defense has been an issue with the Lakers and that should improve with the return of AD. He’ll have his hands full as will the entire team trying to stop Embiid, but with Davis, Dwight Howard and Deandre Jordan, LA has the bodies. And with Westbrook getting straightened out and LeBron in a “zone” the Lakers should have enough offense to offset what Embiid can do.
NBA Odds Prediction: Lakers 117, 76ers 111
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