Two beleaguered teams will battle it out at Crypto.com Arena Sunday night as the Washington Wizards visit the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Wizards have lost nine in a row and 12 of their last 13 and have also been without Bradley Beal (hamstring) since Dec. 4. The Lakers have won two of their last three – including a blowout of the Nuggets on Friday – but they lost Anthony Davis to a foot injury that night, and he’ll miss this contest at a minimum.
Which struggling squad will pick up the win in this spot? Find out in our free NBA picks and predictions for Wizards vs Lakers below.
Wizards vs Lakers best odds
Wizards vs Lakers picks and predictions
Though the long-term outlook for the Lakers could be bleak if Anthony Davis’ foot injury turns out to be significant, they should be able to deal with it in the short term and take down a Wizards team that’s struggling mightily at the moment.
Washington is a woeful 2-12-2 against the spread in its last 16 games overall, and 10 of those games were with Bradley Beal in the lineup. Clearly, his production (22.9 points per game, which leads the team) has been missed, but not to be understated is the absence of Rui Hachimura. He was averaging 11.6 points per game off the bench before suffering an ankle injury 14 games ago.
Without Beal and Hachimura, the Wizards have only two players averaging double-digit points per game in 2022 – Kristaps Porzingis (22.4) and Kyle Kuzma (21.3). When each failed to tally 20 points while shooting a combined 16-for-37 (43.2%) from the floor – including 1-for-9 from 3-point range – against the Clippers on Saturday night, the results were predictable, as Washington mustered only 93 points in a defeat.
If Los Angeles hopes to weather the storm without Davis, it'll need LeBron James to be his usual brilliant self. The 37-year-old superstar has shown no signs of slowing down, reaching the 30-point plateau in three straight games. James is averaging 26.7 points per game this year, in line with his career average of 27.1, and he’s grabbing more rebounds than usual at 8.6 per game, compared to his lifetime average of 7.5.
Thomas Bryant will be the man tasked with filling Davis’ shoes on Sunday night, and he answered the call admirably when Davis went down in the first half of Friday’s tilt with Denver, scoring a season-high 21 points on 9 of 11 shooting in 24 minutes of work. If he is able to replicate that effort, Lakers bettors have a very good chance to cash.
My best bet: Lakers -4.5 (-107 at PointsBet)
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Wizards vs Lakers spread analysis
Another key contributor for the Lakers of late has been Russell Westbrook. The much-maligned point guard is fresh off a triple-double (15 points, 12 assists, 11 rebounds) against the Nuggets, just three games after he authored his first triple-double of the campaign over the Sixers (12 points, 11 assists, 11 rebounds).
Despite starting only three times this season, Westbrook is fourth on L.A.’s roster in points per game at 14.7, so he’s been a valuable piece of the Lakers’ eighth-ranked offense (115.4 points per game). Westbrook should be able to attack a vulnerable Wizards defense that’s surrendered 118.8 points per game during their 1-12 straight-up run. That includes the 130 points they let up against the Lakers in a home loss on Dec. 4.
Los Angeles finds itself in a good situational spot, as they’ve covered in each of their last eight games against teams with losing records, and are 5-1-1 ATS in their last seven home games. By contrast, the Wizards are 16-34-3 ATS in their last 53 road games, and 11-31-1 ATS in their last 43 games against teams with losing records.
Wizards vs Lakers Over/Under analysis
The listed total for this tilt is a lofty one, but bettors should not be surprised if this one turns into a track meet.
As we mentioned above, the Lakers’ solid offense should pile up points against a suspect Wizards defense. This team has averaged 120.7 points per game since their dreadful 2-10 start.
Washington’s 93-point output against the Clippers on Saturday should be dismissed as a fluke, as that was their worst offensive night since they were held to 86 points by the Nets on Nov. 4.
The Wizards’ scoring does not fall off much on the road (110.4 points per game overall, 109.3 points per game as the visitors), and they’ll battle an L.A. defense that’s 25th in points allowed per game (116.3). Kuzma, a former Laker, should be particularly motivated for this one.
Trend bettors should note that the Over is 36-16 in the Wizards’ last 52 games played on no rest, 9-2 in the Lakers’ last 11 games following a straight-up win of more than 10 points, and 4-1 in the Lakers’ last five overall.
Wizards vs Lakers betting trend to know
The Over is 6-1 in the Lakers’ last seven games played on one day of rest. Find more NBA betting trends for Wizards vs. Lakers.
Wizards vs Lakers game info
| Location: | Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA |
| Date: | Sunday, December 18, 2022 |
| Tip-off: | 9:30 p.m. ET |
| TV: | NBC Sports Washington, Spectrum SportsNet |
