NBA: LA Clippers vs. LA Lakers Preview, Odds, Prediction

The LA Clippers and the LA Lakers meet at the beginning of the NBA madness. This is the opener for LAC and the second for the purple and gold, who lost the opener in San Francisco. From what we see right now, the Clips should be stronger than before. They’ve got John Wall, and Kawhi is back as well. On the other hand, the situation among the Lakers isn’t good at all, as Russell Westbrook’s presence simply creates a toxic atmosphere.

Preview

LA Clippers (0-0, -210) had two wins and two losses during the preseason period, with the defeat coming in the most recent events, against the Minnesota Timberwolves, 119-117, and the Denver Nuggets, 126-115, both the teams who are direct contenders for the high spots in the West.

Though even these losses hurt a little bit, it is important that the LAC had a chance to create some chemistry. They need it, particularly now with John Wall organizing the offense. The former top pick showed flashes of his talent against the T-Wolves, once he dropped 20 points on the rivals, in the same number of minutes.

The depth of the LAC is impressive, and they have reliable players in each position. Some would say that their roster is the strongest on paper, but the main problem for the head coach Doc Rivers is the danger of injuries because we know that the Clips had unreal issues with that in the past.

LA Lakers (0-1, +175) were defeated in San Francisco against the Warriors. The final result of that game was 123-109 for the champions, which exploded in the third period once they pulled away, winning that sequence 32-19.

The best player among the LAL was LeBron, who was two assists short of a triple-double having 31 points, 14 boards, and eight dimes, all that in 35 points, showing no signs of fatigue. King James is well into his 30s, closer to his 40s, but that isn’t a problem for him.

Anthony Davis had 27 buckets with six boards and four steals, while Westbrook scored 19 with 11 rebounds. The tension between him and the media is still present, and that’s something that makes things harder for the team. P.S. the Lakers had 25% of shooting for three in this one.

Head to Head Games

The LAC and the LAL met four times last year, and the Clippers won on each occasion. Even in those games when Kawhi and PG couldn’t play, Doc Rivers’ crew was way better than the rivals. Also, they currently have seven victories over the local opponents.

Prediction

The Clippers are a better team, and they’ve shown that throughout the entire previous year once they smashed this Lakers’ team. Two of the games were pretty close, but still, with the addition of John Wall, we believe that the Clips will be even better. That’s why we take the “guests” to win and, with that, to cover the spread as well. At the moment, they are 5-point favorites, and they should beat the Lakers by a higher margin.

Pick: Clippers -5 -110