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The Los Angeles Lakers hit the road and travel to Toyota Center where they visit the Houston Rockets on Tuesday in a showdown between struggling teams.
Los Angeles has dropped five straight games and has now gone two games below the .500 mark at 16-18 SU on the season. The Lakers are just 4th in the Pacific Division and if the playoffs would begin today, they would need to go through the play-in tournament as the current 8th seed.
Houston has lost its last three games and went 1-3 SU in a road trip that concluded on Monday night with a loss to the Charlotte Hornets. With zero days rest, the Rockets head home to host the Lakers on Tuesday night. Houston is 10-24 on the season and they have the worst record in the Western Conference and third-worst record in the entire league.
Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers made a run in their last game against a depleted Nets team but came up short and lost for the fifth straight game. LeBron James had another big game with 39 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists while Malik Monk added 20 on 8-13 shooting. However, Russell Westbrook struggles on 4-20 shooting while missing big shots down the stretch.
Los Angeles is 9th in the NBA in scoring at 110.0 points per game this season. They are 7th in rebounding at 46.1 boards grabbed per contest and are the 11th best passing team at 24.2 assists per game. Los Angeles however, is ranked 4th from the bottom in scoring defense at 112.3 points per game allowed.
Houston Rockets
The Rockets were held down to just 99 points by the Hornets on Monday. Christian Wood and Eric Gordon each scored 16 points for the depleted Rockets who were without Jaylen Green and Kevin Porter Jr. due to injuries and starters Jae’Sean Tate and Garrison Matthews plus key reserve KJ Martin due to COVID-19 protocols. In their absence, Trevelin Queen scored 17 points while Daishen Nix added 11 points.
The Rockets rank 19th in the league in scoring at 106.8 points per game this season. Houston is 6th off the boards with an average of 43.3 rebounds per game and is 7th in passing at 23.2 assists per contest. They also have the 28th ranked scoring defense in the NBA at 114.0 points per game allowed.
Who Wins?
Los Angeles is 0-5 SU in their last five games played. The Lakers are 6-8 SU in 14 road games played this season. Houston is 1-6 SU in their last seven games played. The Rockets are 7-7 SU in 14 home games played this season, but 0-5 SU in their last five games against an opponent from the Pacific Division and 3-12 SU in their last 15 games against Western Conference foes.
Head to head, the Lakers have won nine out of the last 10 meetings between these two teams.
The Lakers have fallen below the .500 mark after five straight losses. With games blowing by very fast, Los Angeles needs to get back on track as soon as possible, and playing the worst team in the West might be just what the doctor ordered for LeBron and company.
Meanwhile, the Rockets’ struggles continue as they are just 3-7 SU in their last 10 games. They are coming off a four-game road trip where they went 1-4 SU, losing their last three games of the trip. Houston played in Chicago last night and could be a little tired on Tuesday.
I don’t like how the Lakers are playing right now but I think the Rockets are worse and they won’t have time to rest after last night’s loss to the Bulls. Give me the more well-rested Lakers who also have the more talented roster
Prediction: Los Angeles Lakers
Other Bets to Make
The Lakers are 1-5 ATS in their last six games played. Los Angeles is 1-6 ATS in their last seven games played against the Western Conference, 1-5 ATS in their last six games against the Southwest division, 8-17-1 ATS in their last 26 games against an opponent with a losing straight up record, 3-9-1 ATS in their last 13 games against an opponent with a winning percentage below .400, and 0-8 ATS in their last eight games when playing on two-days rest.
The Rockets are 1-6 ATS in their last seven games played. Houston is 1-6 ATS in their last seven December games played, 18-39 ATS in their last 57 games against an opponent with a losing straight up record, 1-3-1 ATS in their last five games when playing on zero days rest, 6-21 ATS in their last 27 games against an opponent with a losing road record, and 16-37 ATS in their last 53 home games.
Head to head, the Lakers are 6-3 ATS in their last nine games played against the Rockets.
Lakers
-5.5 (-110)
Rockets
+5.5 (-110)
Odds from BetOnline as of 12/28/2021
Both teams have struggled against the betting spread as of late but when you compare their season output, it’s the Rockets who have performed better at 16-16-1 ATS this season.
Los Angeles is one of the worst ATS teams in the league at 12-22 ATS on the season. The Lakers have failed to cover in five out of their last six games with their five-point loss against the Bulls the only game during that stretch where they picked up the ATS win as +7.5 underdogs.
I expect the Lakers to take advantage of playing the Rockets. They have lost five in a row and need to right the ship ASAP or else their playoff hopes will disappear fast. Houston has the worst record in the West and has lost three in a row,
I think the Lakers will the game outright and with the spread reasonable at -4.5 points, the Lakers should be able to cover it.
Prediction: Lakers -5.5
The total has gone under in seven out of the last 10 games played by the Lakers. The under is 5-1 in Los Angeles’ last six games played on the road, 4-0 in their last four Tuesday games, 2-5 in their last seven road games against an opponent with a winning percentage below .500, 7-3-1 in their last 11 games when playing on two days rest, and 4-2 in their last six overall games against an opponent with a winning percentage of .400 or worse.
The total has gone over in four out of the last five games played by the Rockets. The over is 4-1 in their last five games played at home, 11-1 in their last 12 games when playing on zero days rest, and 9-4 in their last 13 games against an opponent with a losing straight up record.
Head to head, the total has gone under in nine out of the last 12 meetings between these two teams. The under is also 5-0 in their last five meetings in Houston.
Over
229 (-115)
Under
229 (-105)
Odds from BetOnline as of 12/28/2021
The trends say it’s L.A.’s under versus Houston’s over but when you look at the previous games between these two teams, the under has dominated seven times in the last 10 games with both teams combing to score an average of 217.5 points per game during that 10-game span.
Houston scores just an average of 106.8 points per game this season, 19th in the NBA, and they have been limited to 106 or fewer points in their last three games played, including just 99 against the Bulls on Monday.
Meanwhile, the Lakers have managed to score just 110 or fewer points in six out of their last seven games played and with Anthony Davis still and a couple of regular still out, they aren’t going to get in the same offensive groove. Give me the teams to hit the under.
Prediction: Under 229
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