If the Washington Wizards’ New Year’s Resolution was to win more basketball games, it’s safe to say they’ve dropped the ball. Washington hasn’t won since January 1, dragging a 15-game losing skid into tonight’s home stand vs. the Los Angeles Lakers.
Los Angeles could be missing many key bodies tonight, so my Lakers vs. Wizards predictions look to Max Christie to provide scoring for his team.
Here are my best NBA picks for January 30.
Lakers vs Wizards prediction
My best bet
Max Christie Over 11.5 points (-110 at bet365)
My analysis
Max Christie has proven a capable complement to the Los Angeles Lakers superstars, averaging more than 10 points per game over the past two months.
He’s secured a spot in the starting five and is logging more than 31 minutes per game in January. Christie will likely see plenty of minutes on Thursday with Los Angeles’ injury report running deep.
Anthony Davis will be out for at least a week with an abdominal strain, and several other contributors are questionable: LeBron James, Rui Hachimura, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Gabe Vincent are all nursing ailments.
Christie is one of two healthy starters (along with Austin Reeves), and any missing pieces of J.J. Reddick’s rotation will demand extra offense from the third-year guard out of Michigan State.
Christie’s additional playing time has panned out to more field goal attempts, firing up nearly nine shots per game this month. The bulk of those looks are coming from beyond the arc, with Christie shooting just south of six triples a contest over the last 13 games.
The Washington Wizards woes are widespread, but the sorest spot is the defense. They’re dead last in advanced defensive rating, which includes piss-poor perimeter protection.
Washington is giving up a league-high 14.5 threes per outing on the season — a stat that jumps to 15 makes from distance and a 37.4% success rate allowed from 3-point land this month.
Christie didn’t have the best day from deep against the Wizards on Jan. 21, going just 1-for-5 from 3-point range and finishing with only five points in 31 minutes. He’s also coming off a quiet performance in the loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday, finishing with just three points on 1-for-6 shooting.
His scoring total for tonight sits at 11.5 points, which is above his bar of 10.5 over the past 10 games — a reflection of Washington’s dreadful defense and Los Angeles’ dinged-up roster. Christie’s player projections do predict him to pick up the scoring slack left by L.A.’s injuries.
Models sit between 8.1 and 12.5 points from Christie, with some forecasts not adjusting for the potential uptick in touches he will get if one or more of those questionable players sit out tonight.
My number comes out north of 12 points, but again, the ceiling could be 13+ depending on the Lakers’ lineup.
Lakers vs Wizards same-game parlay
Max Christie 10+ Points
Max Christie 3+ 3-Pointers Made
Kyle Kuzma 15+ Points
Christie will get extra possessions against a bad Wizards defense, and my projections call for 12 or more points.
Christie’s shot selection is almost exclusively triples. The Wiz are soft at defending the arc, and I like him to knock down at least three long-range looks.
Kyle Kuzma is as inconsistent as they come, but he should be motivated to score at least 15 points against his former team — especially with holes in the L.A. interior defense.
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Lakers vs Wizards odds
Lakers vs Wizards live odds
Lakers vs Wizards opening odds
- Spread: Los Angeles -5.5 | Washington +5.5
- Moneyline: Los Angeles -205 | Washington +170
- Over/Under: Over 226.5 | Under 226.5
Odds courtesy of bet365.
Lakers vs Wizards spread and Over/Under analysis
- Los Angeles opened as low as -5.5 with Davis on the sideline, but that spread has since jumped to -8.5. That market move could indicate that LeBron James will likely play through a foot injury that currently has him listed as questionable.
- As for the total, it opened at 226.5 points and slimmed to 223.5 O/U.
- Covers Consensus shows 68% of picks fading the slumping Wizards at home while 51% of total picks are taking the Over.
Lakers vs Wizards trend
Washington is 1-20 SU and 6-14-1 ATS in non-conference games, with a 14-7 Over/Under record versus Western Conference competition. Find more NBA betting trends for Lakers vs. Wizards.
How to watch Lakers vs Wizards
| Location | Capiral One Arena, Washington, DC |
| Date | Thursday, 1-30-2025 |
| Tip-off | 7:00 p.m. ET |
| TV | SportsNet Los Angeles, MNMT |
Lakers vs Wizards latest injuries
Not intended for use in MA.
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