Last year’s NBA champions will face the favorites to win it all this year per the NBA betting odds on Saturday night. The Toronto Raptors have outperformed all expectations without Kawhi Leonard and are looking to defend their crown, but the Los Angeles Lakers have other plans in mind this season. LeBron James didn’t make it to the NBA Finals for the first time in eight years last season, and he is looking to bring the Lakers back to the promised land. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET on August 1, 2020, and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.
NBA Opening Lines at BookMaker.eu
Los Angeles Lakers -4
Toronto Raptors +4
Over/Under 214.5
Head-To-Head Results to Date
These teams only met once this season. The Lakers hosted the Raptors back on November 10, and that happened to be their first loss to a team outside of Los Angeles. Pascal Siakam led Toronto with 24 points, while Fred VanVleet added another 23 points in a 113-104 victory for the Raptors. James had an off night despite posting a triple double with 13 points, 13 rebounds, and 15 assists, as he shot just 33.3 percent from the floor.
Injury Report
Avery Bradley has decided to opt out of the rest of the season for the Lakers, and Rajon Rondo is considered questionable to play with an unspecified ailment. Every other player is expected to go though as Anthony Davis, Kyle Kuzma, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope are all considered probable for the Lakers’ Thursday night clash with the Clippers.
After missing over half the regular season due to an ankle injury, Dewan Hernandez is ready to return to the court for Toronto. The rookie saw very light action this year, but he is one of two true centers on the roster and is an insurance policy for veterans Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol. Patrick McCaw missed the Raptors’ last two scrimmages, so his status is up in the air for this game.
Game Preview
Anthony Davis is averaging a double-double for the Lakers, leading the team in points (26.7 PPG) and rebounds (9.4 RPG). He is getting plenty of great looks with LeBron James moving into more of a distributor role, so Davis is knocking down over 51 percent of his shots and has shown he can hit threes when defenders play off. As for James, he led the league in assists (10.6 APG) this season, and he is still capable of posting a triple-double at any time.
Guard play will be huge for the Lakers though given the absence of Bradley and Rondo. That puts the impetus on Caldwell-Pope and Alex Caruso. Caruso has played well in the scrimmages, so we might see the second-year guard a lot more often than we did earlier this season.
Siakam has stepped up in a big way with Leonard departing in the offseason. The raw talent has developed into a homegrown star for this franchise, and he is one of the top defenders in the league. Siakam leads the team with 23.6 PPG and is hitting 45.9 percent of his field goals.
Although the league has gone small, Serge Ibaka has continued to make an impact. Ibaka averaged 16.0 PPG and 8.3 RPG this season, and the Raptors play him more often than most teams play true centers in the current NBA. When Ibaka and Marc Gasol are on the court together alongside Siakam, that creates a size advantage that other teams have a difficult time stopping.
Prediction
The Lakers will get the chance to shake off the rust before the Raptors, and that will have a big impact on this game. Look for the Lakers to get the job done and cover the spread.
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