Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel will call the shots against his former squad this Saturday when they meet the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers have won the first meeting between these two teams, but will they do it again? Or will the Lakers avenge that loss and score a victory?
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Betting Preview for the Los Angeles Lakers vs. Indiana Pacers NBA Regular Season Game on August 8, 2020
Where: Walt Disney World, Orlando
When: Saturday, August 8, 2020, 6:00 PM ET
Line: Los Angeles Lakers (Odds) vs. Indiana Pacers (Odds) – view all 2020 NBA lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
Betting on the Los Angeles Lakers (odds)
Regular Season Record: 51-17
It doesn’t take two JR Smiths to figure out that the Lakers are not putting their maximum effort in their games of late. With the top seed in the Western Conference locked up, the Lakers would rather rest their stars than push them to play in games that are visually meaningless to their playoff fate. Such was the case on Thursday, when the Lakers lost to the Houston Rockets, 113-97. LeBron James didn’t play in that game due to a sore groin, which is another way to say that the Lakers simply rested their four-time MVP. Anthony Davis played but rode the bench in the fourth quarter. It’s hard to determine how much involved James and Davis will be in the game against the Pacers this coming Saturday, but with the Lakers losing three of their last four games, head coach Frank Vogel might feel the need to take the Indiana game a bit more seriously to at least to get his team some momentum ahead of the playoffs. The Lakers are averaging 97.8 points per game in the Orlando bubble — the lowest among all 22 teams there.
The under is 7-3 in the Lakers’ last 10 games.
Betting on the Indiana Pacers (odds)
Regular Season Record: 42-27
The Pacers suffered their first loss in the Orlando bubble on Thursday, as they got victimized by the Phoenix Suns, 114-99. Indiana made just 43.5 percent of their shots from the floor, which is the team’s worst shooting performance in four games thus far since the season restart. However, despite that subpar offensive game, the Pacers remain a top-five team in Disney World with a 49.0 field goal shooting percentage. TJ Warren, who’s been making loud noises of late, saw his hot streak end in the Suns game in which he scored just 16 points after averaging close to 40 points in the previous three games. But that shouldn’t stop the Pacers from going to Warren, who has finally extended his range. He has hit 15 3-pointers in the Pacers’ last four games. If Davis wouldn’t play for the Lakers or have his minutes limited, Myles Turner can take advantage. Turner had 16 points and seven rebounds in a 105-102 home win over the Lakers last December, with Davis also missing that game.
The Pacers are 6-2-2 against the spread in their last 10 games.
Writer’s Prediction
The Pacers win, 108-106.
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