The Los Angeles Lakers certainly don’t want February to end, taking a four-game winning streak into the final day of the month in the hopes of finishing it up 10-2. The Los Angeles Clippers have had a bit of a tougher time, but after a win on the road may be starting to turn things around.
While the Lakers do have some injuries to monitor, their performance this month on defense has been exceptional. We’ll explain why this could loom large for their rivals in our Clippers vs Lakers predictions.
Let’s dig into some NBA player props and hand out some NBA picks on Friday, February 28.
Clippers vs Lakers prediction
My best bet
Lakers +4 (-110 at bet365)
My analysis
Despite shipping Anthony Davis off to Dallas at the start of the month, the Los Angeles Lakers have actually seemed to improve in the frontcourt. They sit inside the top five at the rim on both ends of the floor and rank eighth in rebounding rate with opponents corralling the fifth-fewest boards per 100 possessions on top of that.
The Los Angeles Clippers, meanwhile, have continued to struggle in these areas with an undersized roster, ranking 21st on the boards and 25th in rim defense. They’ve at least scored around the rim at the 12th-highest rate, though it’s been their perimeter players who have made the biggest impact in that zone.
That will set up nicely for the Lakers in theory, though there are some injuries of concern here. Rui Hachimura will sit on the second night of a back-to-back with a hip injury with LeBron James and Jaxson Hayes wearing questionable tags. On top of that, Luka Doncic is also listed as questionable as the Lakers look to manage his calf injury, though this is nothing new and it’s Hayes that would seem to be the likeliest to miss this one.
Still, the Lakers have found success with Dorian Finney-Smith playing some minutes as a small-ball big, and Jarred Vanderbilt has maintained this team’s performance on the glass. It wouldn’t seem as if the Clippers would find a discernible edge from injury.
The Lakers own the second-best defense in the league this month, and most damning of all is the fact that they’ve done their best work in the mid-range where they rank second in field goal percentage allowed. That’s been the bread and butter of the Clippers’ offense, and with Norman Powell listed questionable things could be in doubt for this offense.
If James or Doncic do sit here, the swing in the line is very much understandable, however, we’ve been given no indication that the injuries are serious. The Lakers have plenty of depth behind Doncic with Austin Reaves doing an excellent job before he was ready to return from injury, and their complementary pieces on the wings have been one of the main reasons for their excellent numbers this month.
I’ll bite the bullet and take the points with the Lakers.
Clippers vs Lakers same-game parlay
Lakers +4.5
Austin Reaves 3+ threes
Kawhi Leonard 2+ threes
We’ll focus on shooting here for our same-game parlay, following some trends that are hard to ignore.
Beginning on the Lakers’ end, Austin Reaves has been firing away from deep with nearly eight attempts per game over his last six contests. He’s shot just 31.1% over this span, but it hasn’t affected his volume, and now he’ll be shooting on the league’s worst 3-point defense this month. Reaves could see an expanded role if Doncic is out or limited as well, which increases my interest here even more.
Then, we will throw our faith behind Kawhi Leonard, who to this point in the season has taken 3-pointers at the largest clip of his career. The majority of these have come above the break, where the Lakers have been around the middle of the league in February to represent their weakest spot on the floor.
Leonard has hit two or more times in three straight, and in a similar vein to the handicap with Reaves, could see more opportunities with Powell popping up on the injury report.
Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.
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Clippers vs Lakers odds
Clippers vs Lakers live odds
Clippers vs Lakers opening odds
- Spread: Los Angeles Clippers +1.5 | Los Angeles Lakers -1.5
- Moneyline: Los Angeles Clippers +100 | Los Angeles Lakers -125
- Over/Under: Over 221.5 | Under 221.5
Odds courtesy of bet365
Clippers vs Lakers spread and Over/Under analysis
- After the Lakers opened up as the favorites, the line quickly flipped with injury news and shot up as high as Clippers -5.5 before settling around four points.
- The Clippers make up 22% of the bets and 52% of the handle wagered on the spread.
- The total had been trending down for much of the last 24 hours, bottoming out at 219 before coming back up around 220 or 220.5 depending on the book.
- The Over has accounted for 74% of the bets but just 53% of the money.
Clippers vs Lakers trend
The Los Angeles Lakers have hit the 2Q Moneyline in 22 of their last 29 games at home (+14.57 Units / 33% ROI). Find more NBA betting trends for Clippers vs. Lakers.
How to watch Clippers vs Lakers
| Location | Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California |
| Date | Friday, 2-28-2025 |
| Tip-off | 10:00 p.m. ET |
| TV | ESPN |
Clippers vs Lakers latest injuries
Not intended for use in MA.
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