The Lakers were rolling to begin the season, they were second in the west all the way up until mid-February. The Lakers got word that star forward Anthony Davis will miss at least two months with a slightly tweaked Achilles, on the same foot he injured it on earlier in his career so they naturally took caution. The Lakers now sit at 24-13 good for the third seed in the western conference behind only the Suns and Jazz.
The Pacers have not had the year they were hoping, with the trade of Victor Oladipo to the Rockets in that monster four-team trade for James Harden. The only saving grace for the Pacers is that the eastern conference is so lackluster this season that even sitting at the tenth seed with a record of 16-19 there is still room for them to make a run and sneak into the playoffs.
Los Angeles Lakers Betting Preview:
Even with the Anthony Davis injury, the Lakers are still a top-five team in the league because they have the one and only LeBron James who is single-handedly keeping them afloat while Davis recovers. James is averaging 26 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists per game this season. Some key role players for the Lakers this season have been the emergence of Kyle Kuzma,who is averaging 12 points and six assists, and Dennis Schroder who is averaging 15 points, five assists, and four rebounds per game since Davis went out.
The Lakers are middle of the pack when it comes to their record against the spread this season. With a record of 17-20, the Lakers are 18th in the NBA covering the spread this season. There is still no timetable for the return of Anthony Davis but head coach Frank Vogel said he is hopeful that either late March or early April he could return to the lineup for the playoff home stretch.
Indiana Pacers Betting Preview:
The Pacers are having a year they’re not accustomed to, they haven’t been this low in the standings at the all-star break since the 2010 season. In the Monster deal between four teams that sent James Harden to the Nets, the Pacers received shooting guard Caris LeVert from the Nets. He was sidelined before he could even play a minute for the Pacers as, when the doctors were performing his physical evaluation they found a non-cancerous lump on his Kidney and had to deal with that right away and that took him into the all-star break.
The Pacers had one all-star this season and it was Domantas Sabonis who is having a career year averaging 21 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists. The Pacers are simultaneously one of the worst teams in the league against the spread with a record of 14-21, while also being a top five team in the league regarding the over/under with a record of 21-14. Like I said before the Pacers are not out of the playoff hunt by any means but they’ll have to clean some things up if they want to make it.
Lakers at Pacers Odds and Lines:
FanDuel has the odds opened with the Lakers favored by 4.5 points with the over/under set at 216.5.
Free pick of the night:
My free pick of the night is the over of 216.5.
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