The Golden State Warriors’ storybook season rolls along on Sunday as they face the Los Angeles Lakers for the fourth and final time this year. It’ll be the last chance for Kobe Bryant to face Stephen Curry and co., but can the Mamba even get on the court to prevent the Warriors from sweeping the season series?
Read on below for our preview of this Sunday NBA showcase. And for more top Sunday sports action, check out our complete preview of NASCAR’s Kobalt 400 here.
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Golden State Warriors vs. Los Angeles Lakers Preview
Where: STAPLES Center, Los Angeles
When: Sunday, March 6, 3:30 PM ET
Line: Golden State Warriors at Los Angeles Lakers – view all NBA lines
TV Broadcast: ABC
Betting on the Golden State Warriors (55-5)
The Oklahoma City Thunder gave it as good as they got, but for the second time in three games, the Golden State Warriors were just better. Led by Steph Curry’s 33 points, the Warriors extended their current winning streak to seven games with a 121-106 home win over the Thunder on Thursday.
At this point, there’s really nothing left to say about the Dubs’ greatness. They’re well on pace to at least match the 95-96 Bulls’ 72-10 record, and win No. 56 of the season seems all but a formality as they face a struggling Lakers team.
The Warriors have been simply merciless against LA this season. In their prior three meetings, they’ve blown out the Lakers by 34, 21 and 18 points. They also missed going a perfect 3-0 ATS in those games by just half a point despite spreads of 17, 13.5 and 18.5.
With the second game of a back-to-back scheduled against Orlando the following day, the Warriors could look to put the game out of reach quickly in order to rest their starters.
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Betting on the Los Angeles Lakers (12-51)
The Los Angeles Lakers are tanking it up. They’ve now gone 1-10 (6-5 ATS) in their last 11 games after Friday’s 106-77 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
After averaging almost 27 points in his past four games, rookie D’Angelo Russell finally fell back down to earth against Atlanta. He scored just seven points on 3-of-15 shooting from the field.
That loss against the Hawks was the third game Kobe Bryant has missed in the last four due to an ailing shoulder. Jordan Clarkson also missed the Hawks game due to a knee injury.
Even if Kobe does give it a go in his final meeting against the Warriors, it’s doubtful he can contribute much positive for his team, especially with a bum shoulder. In two games Kobe has played against Golden State this season, he’s scored a combined 12 points on 5-of-29 (17 percent) shooting.
The best shot the Lakers have of even making this a contest is if the Warriors don’t give it 100 percent and Russell rediscovers his stroke. That’s certainly a possibility, as the Dubs might just look past the Lakers and onto the second half of their double-header.
Writer’s Prediction
The Warriors throttle the Lakers, 115-97.
