LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers appear to be on cruise control through the early portion of this NBA season. The Lake Show has won nine of their last 10 ball games, but a little more surprising is they have covered the spread in four straight.
Will the Lakers roll to another easy win and cover, or will Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors put up a fight as 8.5-point underdogs?
Let's check out our best Warriors vs. Lakers picks and predictions for Monday, January 18, with tipoff set for 10:00 p.m. ET.
Golden State Warriors at Los Angeles Lakers Betting Preview
Injuries
Warriors: No injuries to report.
Lakers: LeBron James F (Questionable), Anthony Davis F (Questionable), Kentavious Caldwell-Pope G (Questionable), Wesley Matthews G (Questionable).
Find our latest NBA injury reports.
Betting Trend to Know
The Under is 5-0 in the Warriors' last five games and 10-2 in the Lakers' last 12 games overall. Find more NBA betting trends for Warriors vs. Lakers.
Against the Spread (ATS) Pick
Right off the bat. Get used to seeing LeBron and AD listed as “Questionable” or a “Game Time Decision” this season. They seem to be a misnomer at this point, particularly for James, who in Year 18, has yet to miss a game.
OK, with that out of the way, as mentioned the Lakers seem to be facing little resistance at this point. Not only are they covering spreads at the moment, but they are also doing so by an average of 13 points over the last four games, and it all starts with James. LeBron, even casually, is putting up 24.1 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.7 assists per game.
But most impressive about James and the Lakers this season has been their effort on the defensive end. No one would blink an eye if the defending champs didn’t put in max effort on D following the shortest offseason in NBA history, but that hasn’t been the case.
The Lakers rank first in the NBA in defensive rating and defensive efficiency, and their next task will be trying to slow down Steph Curry.
After a stretch that saw them win four of five, the Warriors have dropped two in a row where they have averaged just 99.5 points. This isn’t overly surprising, considering the Warriors haven’t been getting consistent scoring outside of Curry. The two-time MVP is averaging 28.8 points per game, but Andrew Wiggins is the next-best scorer at 17.7, and you never really want Andrew Wiggins to be your second-best scorer.
The Lakers have the ability to take away Curry in this matchup, and even if he starts lighting it up, L.A.'s overall defense will be too much for the Warriors' secondary scoring to keep up. That, plus respective current forms makes it hard to fade L.A. in this spot.
PREDICTION: Lakers -8.5 (-110)
Over/Under Pick
The Warriors are arguably worse than their record, but one of the reasons they’ve managed their 6-6 standing is the improved play on the defensive end of the court. The Warriors rank a respectable 17th in defensive efficiency and 19th in defensive rating.
While the Lakers' depth and talent will eventually overwhelm Golden State, the Warriors are also one of the few teams who can at least put up a bit of a fight with the Lakers on the inside. We’ve also already talked at length about Golden State’s scoring inconsistency and the Lakers' great defense. Mix that with the fact that both teams are trending towards the Under and this number is looking a little high.
PREDICTION: Under 226.5 (-110)
Player Prop
While the Warriors allow a low 2-point field goal percentage, their perimeter defense is a little lacking. Golden State ranks 24th in opponent 3-point field goal percentage, allowing teams to shoot nearly 39 percent from long range. That could mean a good night from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
The Lakers guard has had the hot hand from beyond the arc since returning from an ankle injury. Caldwell-Pope is shooting 57.9 percent from 3-point range on 4.8 attempts over the last four games, which makes his Made Threes total of 1.5 too tempting to pass up.
PREDICTION: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Over 1.5 Made Threes (-120)
Warriors vs Lakers Betting Card
- Lakers -8.5 (-110)
- Under 226.5 (-110)
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Over 1.5 Made Threes (-120)
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