Los Angeles Lakers vs Portland Trail Blazers betting tips and predictions for Sunday’s NBA Game on Spectrum SportsNet. LeBron and Co. are looking to avoid going down 0-3 on the young season as they host Dame Lillard and the undefeated Blazers. Read on for all our free predictions and betting tips.
How to watch Lakers vs. Trail Blazers
- Game Day: Sunday, October 23, 2022
- Game Time: 12:30 PM ET
- TV Channel: SportsNet LA and ROOT Sports NW+
- Arena: Los Angeles, California. Crypto.com Arena
- TV Channel: NBA League Pass
- Livestream: Watch on fuboTV!
Los Angeles Lakers
After 4 consecutive losses now (including the preseason), pressure is mounting on the Lakers to make some sort of move to stop the bleeding. There were signs of improvement in their 2nd game of the season compared to opening night as they lost to the Clippers by only 6 points. LeBron James and Anthony Davis both went over 20 points, while Lonnie Walker IV led the way scoring 26. You might be asking yourself what happened to Russell Westbrook? That’s what everyone else is wondering too, as Russ went 0-for-11 from the field in the game in what was one of his worst regular season games of the past decade or so. Whether or not the Lakers continue starting him or he finally moves to the bench remains to be seen, but something will have to give in order for the Lakers to turn things around.
Portland Trail Blazers
The Blazers were in a similar spot last season as they ended it with one of the worst records in the NBA, but they appear to be doing alright this time around, at least if we are to judge them by their two games so far. Dame Lillard dropped 41 points on Thursday as Portland beat the heavily favored Phoenix Suns 113-111 at home after Overtime. The win caught many people off guard as Portland went into the game as 5-point underdogs. Compared to last year, the Blazers are now actually playing some defense as they rank 11th in the NBA in points allowed per game, while last year they were near the bottom of the NBA. If this continues they will have no problems getting back to the postseason, but it’s still too early to make conclusions after just two games played. Against today’s opponent the Blazers are just 1-5 SU in their last 5 visits to Crypto.com Arena, so there’s plenty of work still to be done.
Despite a poor start to the season, the oddsmakers still have faith in the Lakers as they open up as 3.5 point favorites here. I’m not sure how realistic that is, Portland has looked far better in every aspect so far. With all the drama around Westbrook and Anthony Davis taking a spill against the Clippers and hurting his back, I think the safer option here is to back the Blazers and the extra points.
Blazers +3.5 Point Spread is available at -110 odds on bet365
Los Angeles Lakers vs Portland Trail Blazers Odds
Los Angeles Lakers vs Portland Trail Blazers Predictions & Betting Tips
So far on the season the Blazers rank 13th in the NBA scoring 114 points per game, while the Lakers are only 27th averaging 103 per game. Shooting has been a major problem for the Lakers, they are one of the worst teams in efficiency connecting on just 38.8% shots from the field as a unit. Three-point shooting is also an issue, they make just 9.5 triples per game which ranks them 26th in the NBA and to make matters worse they connect on just 22.4% of those shots which is dead last in the league. Will all that change overnight against the Blazers? It is hard to say. Portland is making an effort to improve it’s defense this year as that’s the only way they can make a run for one of the playoff spots in the West. LA has one of the most inexperienced benches in the NBA, so it’s hard to count on any production at least not until Dennis Schroder comes back. I think the Blazers get the job done tonight and hold LA to around 100 points. Take the under.
Under 223.5 Total Points is available at -110 odds on bet365
Blazers +3.5 Point Spread is available at -110 odds on bet365
