The Los Angeles Lakers continue their Eastern Conference tour when they head to the nation’s capital to face the Washington Wizards tonight as NBA odds favorites.
It’s a quick turnaround for LeBron James and the Lakers who rolled over Toronto last night. That blowout allowed L.A. to rest James and other key starters ahead of what will be Los Angeles' third game in four days.
Washington is also playing the second of back-to-back games after stunning Milwaukee as a 12.5-point home underdog Tuesday. The Wiz, who are just playing out the schedule at the bottom of the East, are running very thin and could be without several key players tonight.
I size up the spread and Over/Under total for this non-conference contest and give my best NBA picks for the Lakers vs. Wizards on April 3.
Lakers vs Wizards predictions
My best bet: Rui Hachimura Over 13.5 (-115 at bet365)
It’s a homecoming of sorts for Los Angeles Lakers' forward Rui Hachimura when the Lake Show rolls into D.C. to face his former team.
Hachimura, who was traded from Washington to L.A. in January 2023, has been a big part of this team's late-season surge.
The Gonzaga product averaged more than 17 points on 59% shooting throughout March, garnering a secure spot in the starting lineup and bringing with it an uptick in floor time. He opened April with 6-for-9 night from the field and 14 points over 26 minutes in the one-sided win at Toronto on Tuesday.
Hachimura’s scoring prop for tonight’s game against the Washington Wizards has a Over/Under of 13.5 points (Over -115), which is a bar Rui has topped in five straight outings and in 11 of his last dozen games.
The Wizards aren’t provided much pushback for their former standout small forward. Washington is 28th in advanced defensive rating and allowing almost 123 points against per game — dead last in the league. The Wiz are potentially playing without a number of key bodies tonight and are ripe for a letdown after upsetting Milwaukee as 12.5-point home pups last night.
Player projections for Hachimura range from 14 points to as many as 19 in tonight’s game, with my number coming out to 16.1 points — the same forecast as our NBA player props projection.
Given that, the Over 13.5 points should be priced around -180. As of Wednesday morning, you can find Hachimura’s scoring prop as high as 14.5 (Over -105) while other shops at Over 13.5 points are as high as -137 with the vig. However, if you shop you can see some dealing this same option as low as -115.
Lakers vs Wizards same-game parlay
Rui Hachimura Over 13.5 points
Hacimura Over 4.5 rebounds
Lakers moneyline
Hachimura has been one of the best players on L.A. for the past month and will have some added motivation to torch his old team tonight, with projections calling for a ceiling of 19 points.
Rui has also been a force on the board for the Lakers, pulling down almost five rebounds a game over the past month. He’s forecasted for more than five rebounds tonight.
We’ll keep it simple with the outright odds, with L.A. pushing for a better postseason spot and the Wizards in letdown mode after upsetting the Bucks last night.
Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.
Lakers vs Wizards odds and trends
Lakers vs Wizards live odds
Lakers vs Wizards opening odds
- Spread: Los Angeles -13 | Washington +13
- Moneyline: Los Angeles -853 | Washington +632
- Over/Under: Over 234 | Under 234
Lakers vs Wizards spread and Over/Under analysis
• Los Angeles opened as short as -11.5 at some books overnight and that spread has climbed to as high as -13 before buyback on the underdog settled it to a market consensus of L.A. -12.5, as of Wednesday morning.
• The Lakers are still pushing to improve their postseason positioning. Los Angeles is currently ninth in the Western Conference and headed for the play-in tournament but is just 2.5 games back of New Orleans for the No. 6 seed.
• L.A. is playing its best basketball at the right time, winning seven of its last eight games overall with a 6-2 ATS mark in this run. On the season, the Lakers are 17-20 ATS on the road and 4-3 ATS when laying double digits. Washington owns a 13-24-1 ATS mark at home but has gone 4-2-1 ATS in its last seven, going 3-0-1 ATS as double-digit dogs in that span.
• The Over/Under total for tonight’s game in D.C. opened at 234 points and has since shifted to 233.5, with some adjustments to the Under. Los Angeles is one of the better Over bets in the NBA at 42-33-1 O/U and is 4-2 O/U in first six games of this road trip. The Wizards boast an 18-19-1 O/U mark inside Capital One Arena and are 3-1 O/U in their last four outings.
Lakers vs Wizards trend
Rui Hachimura has scored 14 points or more in five straight games and 11 of his last 12 outings. Find more NBA betting trends for Lakers vs. Wizards.
Lakers vs Wizards game info
| Location: | Capital One Arena, Washington, DC |
| Date: | Wednesday, April 3, 2024 |
| Tip-off: | 7:00 p.m. ET |
| TV: | MNMT, Spectrum SportsNet |
Not intended for use in MA.
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