Golden State Warriors vs Los Angeles Lakers betting tips and predictions for Tuesday’s NBA Playoffs game on TNT. The defending champions Warriors will try to open their series against the Lakers with a home win as the two teams clash at Chase Center for Game 1. Read on for all our free predictions and betting tips.
Golden State Warriors
What a night it was for Stephen Curry as he broke the all-time NBA record for most points in a Game 7 this weekend. Curry dropped 50 on the Sacramento Kings as the Warriors cruised to a 120-100 win, booking themselves a place in the West semi finals. In their way standing are the Lakers and LeBron James.
3 of 4 regular season meetings went LA’s way, but Steph and LeBron only played in 2 of those games each so I’m not sure what to make of those head-to-head stats. It’s a quick turnaround for Golden State as they played on Sunday, while the Lakers had a few more extra days of rest as they finished their series earlier last week. At 15-5 SU in the last 20 games at Chase Center vs LA, you have to like the Warriors’ chances to start off with a win here.
Los Angeles Lakers
I’m sure the Lakers were hoping to play Sacramento in the 2nd round as then they could just use their experience to eliminate the young and upcoming Kings. But, even against the Warriors they shouldn’t be discounted so easily. The Lakers actually have a positive record with 10 wins in the last 15 meetings overall and have covered in 5 of the last 7 head-to-head.
Both LeBron James and Anthony Davis are healthy and have put up really solid numbers against Memphis. It all comes down to consistency though, the likes of D’Angelo Russell won’t be able to afford 2-3 bad games in a row in this series if LA is to stand a chance of advancing.
Despite a bit more fatigue, I still like Golden State in the series opener. Curry is in stellar form and despite Klay, Wiggins and Poole playing really bad they still won by 20 in Game 7. That trio should bounce back here, so let’s take Golden State on Tuesday.
Golden State Warriors vs Los Angeles Lakers Predictions & Odds
Unlike the series against Sacramento, this one should be a bit different in terms of pace for Golden State. The last time they played the Lakers we saw only 218 points scored, that’s the most recent game after all the trades went down for LA. The Lakers actually have the best defensive rating in the postseason coming into this game, allowing 102.8 points per 100 possessions.
The Warriors rank 6th in that category in the postseason, while during the regular season they were the 3rd best home defensive team allowing just 108.4 points per 100 possessions. The under has cashed in 4 of 5 for the Lakers and in 4 of 6 for the Warriors and with just 221.6 points per game averaged in the 3 most recent meetings I think backing the under is the way to go in Game 1.
