We've got an intra-city battle in the NBA tonight as the Los Angeles Lakers face off against the Los Angeles Clippers. While these teams aren't the championship contenders that they were two years ago, there are still stakes on the line with both fighting for playoff contention.
With the Lakers possibly playing without LeBron James for the fifth game in a row, NBA betting lines opened with the Clippers as 3.5-point favorites. Here are our best free Lakers vs. Clippers NBA picks and predictions for Thursday, January 3.
Lakers vs Clippers odds
This odds widget represents the best odds available for each betting market from regulated sportsbooks.
The line opened with the Clippers at -3.5 with the Over/Under at 218. Early money came in on the Over, shifting the total to 220. When these teams previously played against each other on December 3, the Clippers won 119-115 as 2.5-point underdogs.
Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right until tip-off and be sure to check out the full NBA odds before betting to ensure you get the best number.
Lakers vs Clippers predictions
Predictions made on 2/3/2022 at 10:15 a.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.
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Lakers vs Clippers game info
• Location: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA
• Date: Thursday, February 3, 2022
• Tip-off: 10:00 p.m. ET
• TV: TNT
Lakers vs Clippers betting preview
Injuries
Lakers: Lebron James SF (Questionable), Kendrick Nunn G (Out).
Clippers: Ivica Zubac C (Questionable), Paul George SF (Out), Kawhi Leonard SF (Out).
Find our latest NBA injury reports.
Betting trend to know
Over is 9-4 in Lakers last 13 overall. Find more NBA betting trends for Lakers vs. Clippers.
Lakers vs Clippers picks and predictions
Our predictions are compiled from the analysis of the spread and total and are indications of where we are leaning for this game.
Our best bet is the play that we like the most for this game, which we would actually put some of our bankroll behind.
Spread analysis
The Clippers have struggled to break .500 this season without All-NBA forward Kawhi Leonard, and things got even worse for them when Paul George was sidelined by elbow troubles in December. The All-Star swingman has been out since Christmas and the Clips have gone 9-12 SU with an average net rating of minus-2.7 since then.
The Clips have been more competitive lately and although they're coming off a road loss against the Pacers, they're still 5-4 SU and 7-2 ATS in their last nine games.
The Lakers are fresh off a 99-94 win against the Hawks last night which snapped a three-game losing skid. LAL is also below .500 with a 25-27 record and they've had injury problems of their own with All-NBA big man Anthony Davis sidelined for more than a month before returning last week, and LeBron James missing the last four contests due to swelling in his knee.
James is listed as questionable for tonight, but with reports stating that he won't play until the swelling goes down, we'd be surprised to see him suit up.
Nonetheless, the Lakers still have better high-end talent than this Clippers squad and Russell Westbrook is more than capable of leading the attack. Westbrook's inefficient shooting and turnovers have hurt L.A., but he tends to play at his best when he's the primary handler, and he's still capable of filling up the hoop.
Davis is back to his typical dominant self on both ends of the floor, dropping at least 27 points in each of the last three games and totaling eight blocks in that span. He should be able to destroy a weak Clippers frontcourt that allows 49.7 points per game in the paint (fourth-worst in the league)...if he plays that is. AD's health is always a concern and he was limping against the Blazers yesterday, which could mean that Vogel rests him on a back-to-back just like he did against the Hornets last Friday.
In a matchup between two disappointing L.A. teams, we'll lean towards the Lakers with the points, but will wait for Davis' status to become clear before putting our money down.
Prediction: Lakers +3.5 (-110)
Over/Under analysis
The Lakers have been one of the league's best Over bets this season thanks to a speedy tempo and shaky defensive play — both of which get magnified when Westbrook takes over the team.
The Lakers play at the third-fastest pace in the NBA and rank just 27th in scoring defense with 112.2 ppg allowed.
The Clippers have also played with an uptempo style lately, leading the league in pace over their last five games. And they've surrendered 109.9 ppg since George last played way back on December 22.
With the Over 4-1-1 in the Clippers' last six games and the Lakers cashing the Over in nine of their previous 13 contests, expect this game to go above the total tonight.
Prediction: Over 220 (-110)
Best bet
A reason this total opened so low is the likely absences of George (24.7 ppg), James (29.1 ppg), and maybe even Davis (23.4 ppg). However, that doesn't seem to account for the impact those players have on the defensive end of the floor and the fact that both squads have been able to score lately when shorthanded.
Guys like Amir Coffey have emerged to help Clips score at least 111 points in five straight games, averaging 114.4 ppg over that span.
Meanwhile, the Lakers dropped 114 points (while allowing 117) against the Hornets last week without James and Davis. While the O/U has already ticked up to 220, we still like the Over to hit.
Pick: Over 220 (-110)
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