Two Pacific Division teams each with a running three-game win streak will come to a head on Tuesday night when the Golden State Warriors visit the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers have seemingly righted their rickety ship during this unlikely three-game run, but now they’ll have to take on the best team in the NBA. Are we about to witness the return of the Lake Show, or will Los Angeles’ Lake “Schmo” tendency rear its ugly head yet again?
Let’s get into this thrilling divisional matchup in greater detail below. Afterwards, check out more of Tuesday night’s basketball slate with our previews for New York vs. Atlanta and Milwaukee vs. Chicago.
[sc:NBAArticles ]Golden State Warriors vs. Los Angeles Lakers Preview
Where: STAPLES Center, Los Angeles
When: Tuesday, January 5, 10:30 PM ET
Line: Golden State Warriors at Los Angeles Lakers – view all NBA lines
Betting on the Golden State Warriors (32-2)
[sc:NBA250 ]Oh, just another home game and another win for the Golden State Warriors.
There’s little to no shock factor anymore whenever the Warriors light up their opponents in Oakland. The latest victim happened to be the Charlotte Hornets, who came out on the wrong end of a 111-101 decision on Monday.
The Warriors exhibited just what a complete team they are with their players’ stats from that game, as Splash Brothers Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson scored 30 points apiece for the easy victory against the depleted Hornets, and for Golden State’s 35th-consecutive regular season home win.
However, neither Curry nor Thompson earned the honor of being named as the game’s top performer, for that award definitely belonged to Draymond Green. The 6-foot-7 dynamo finished with 13 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists for his third-straight game with a triple-double (only the 15th player in NBA history to accomplish that feat). Green’s also well ahead of the rest of the competition with his NBA-best seventh 3-D outing for the season.
With Golden State’s three best players playing at an exceptionally high level, the outcome of Tuesday night’s meeting against Los Angeles has probably been set in stone already as a Warriors win. And considering that Golden State has won six of the last seven games against the Lakers (5-2 ATS), their SoCal rivals are likely bound to come crashing back down to Earth with a resounding thud.
Create a betting account now and cash in from this rivalry out in the Pacific and all the other exciting games from the NBA.
Betting on the Los Angeles Lakers (8-27)
Wait a minute… are these really the ridiculed Los Angeles Lakers that we’re watching right now?
Make no mistake about it: Los Angeles just laid a 97-77 beat down on the Phoenix Suns on Monday for the team’s first three-game win streak since February of last season. Then again, two of those three victories came against the underachieving Suns and the utter definition of a bad basketball team in the 4-and-33 Philadelphia 76ers.
Still, give credit where credit is due to this rather dysfunctional Lakers squad, which has even been playing without Kobe Bryant for back-to-back contests now due to an injured shoulder. Lou Williams came up big against Phoenix on Monday, putting up 30 points on 6-of-7 shooting from downtown along with seven rebounds and four dimes.
Son of an NBA legend, Larry Nance Jr., also provided quite a spark in the win. Nance made seven of his 10 shots from the floor for 15 points together with 14 boards, the second-straight game that he had posted the exact same number of rebounds.
The young guns of L.A. are starting to come into better form, yet the fact remains that this raw Laker core ultimately pales in comparison to mighty Golden State. Given that Los Angeles ranks 28th in the league in scoring, and that the total has gone under in eight of team’s last 10 home games, it’s rather safe to assume that the Warriors will spoil all the fun that has gone down for the past couple of games at Staples.
Writer’s Prediction
The Dubs obliterate the Lakers, 114-85.
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