Los Angeles Lakers vs Brooklyn Nets 01/23/20 NBA Odds, Preview, and Prediction

The Los Angeles Lakers face the Brooklyn Nets at the Barclays Center on Thursday night.

The Lakers continue their New York trip. Los Angeles was playing the New York Knicks as of this writing and they are trying to bounce back after getting mauled at the TD Garden by the Boston Celtics on Monday night. Brooklyn enters this game having lost four in a row. All four losses have come against teams with a winning record. Not only is L.A. 8-2 SU in their last 10 games played, but they are also the owners of the best record in the Western Conference.

New York Trip

The Los Angeles Lakers’ New York trip takes them to the Barclays Center a day after playing the Knicks at the Garden. Los Angeles has the best record in the Western Conference but traveled to New York after suffering a big beating in Boston last Monday night.

LeBron James shot just 5-12 from the field and scored 15 points while issuing 13 assists in the loss to the Celtics. Anthony Davis returned from injury but he scored only 9 points in 23 minutes of action. Javale McGee led the Lakers with 18 points while Kyle Kuzma added 13 points in a losing cause.

The Lakers rank 7th in the league in scoring at 114.0 points per game. They are 15th in rebounding at 45.6 boards grabbed per contest and are 6th overall in passing at 26.0 assists per game. Los Angeles has the 7th best defense in the league at 106.4 points per game allowed.

Four Straight Losses

The Brooklyn Nets head to this contest with four straight losses. Brooklyn is coming off a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night. The Nets got starters Joe Harris and Garrett Temple back from injuries but they played without Kyrie Irving again as the latter was rested due to his hamstring injury. The Nets dropped to 18-24 on the season, 4th in the Atlantic Division.

Spencer Dinwiddie led the Nets again with 22 points while Caris LeVert added 16 points. Rookie Nicolas Claxton scored 15 points for the Nets as the second-round pick filled in for the injured DeAndre Jordan. Jarrett Allen added 13 points and 13 rebounds while Joe Harris scored 12 points in his return.

The Nets rank 19th in the league in scoring at 109.3 points per game. They are 2nd in rebounding at 48.5 boards grabbed per contest and are 17th in passing at 23.6 assists per outing. Brooklyn has the 18th ranked scoring defense in the NBA this season as they are allowing opponents to score 111.6 points per game.

Who Wins?

Los Angeles is 8-2 SU in their last 10 games played. The Lakers are 3-1 SU in their last four road games played, and 4-3 SU in seven road games against the Eastern Conference. Brooklyn is 2-8 SU in their last 10 games played. The Nets are 2-5 SU in their last seven games played at home and 4-3 SU in seven home games against Western Conference teams. Head to head, these teams have split their last 10 meetings but the Nets have taken two out of the last three encounters.

The Lakers are playing in New York on Wednesday night and the team has listed Rajon Rondo as day to day. Los Angeles got Anthony Davis back the last time out but they were mauled by the Celtics. I expect the Lakers to bounce back against the Knicks but they will have to face the other New York team on Thursday night.

The Nets are coming off a loss to the Sixers. They have dropped four consecutive games, all against teams with a winning record. Kyrie Irving just got back in action and he was rested against the Sixers to relieve his tight right hamstring. Irving is listed as day to day for this game.

The Lakers won seven straight games but they have lost two out of their last three games played. The Purple and Gold were ambushed by Orlando last January 15th and were annihilated by the Boston Celtics on Monday night. The Lakers are playing back to back games here but I think they are still good enough to beat the Nets in Brooklyn.

Prediction: Los Angeles Lakers

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Other Bets to Make

The Lakers are 5-4-1 ATS in their last 10 games played. Los Angeles is 3-1 ATS in their last four games played on the road and just 1-6 ATS in seven road games against the Eastern Conference. The Nets are 2-8 ATS in their last 10 games played. Brooklyn is 2-5 ATS in their last seven games played at home, and 4-3 ATS in seven home games against the Western Conference. Head to head, these Nets are 2-1 ATS in their last three meetings against the Lakers.

Brooklyn has outscored Los Angeles by an average of 2.33 points per game in their last three meetings. These teams, however, have not yet played this season. Anthony Davis is back in action for the Lakers while the Nets have listed Kyrie Irving as probable for this game. Without Irving, I think that the Nets are overmatched against a Lakers team that has AD back.

Prediction: Lakers -6

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The total has gone over in seven out of the last 10 games played by the Lakers. Los Angeles has seen the total go over in each of their last four assignments. The total has gone over in six out of the last 10 games played by the Nets. The over is 4-3 in the Nets’ last seven games played at home. Head to head, the under is 3-1 in the last four meetings between these two teams.

The Lakers have scored an average of 121.83 points per game in their last six outings and the total has hit over 235 points in five of those six games with no game having a total lower than 227 points. On the other hand, the Nets have allowed at least 117 points during their current four-game losing streak. With AD back, the red hot scoring Lakers should have a high-scoring game against Brooklyn’s spotty defense.

Prediction: Over 229

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