:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69311157/1318576139.0.jpg)
The No. 7 Los Angeles Lakers and No. 8 Golden State Warriors face off in the NBA play-in tournament game to decide the 7-seed in the Western Conference on Wednesday night at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN. Normally we wouldn’t see the past two West teams to win it all facing each other in a one-game playoff at the bottom of the bracket, but here we are. Stephen Curry vs. LeBron James and Anthony Davis to see who faces the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the playoffs.
The Lakers dominated the Dubs during the regular season, mostly because of their advantage down low. L.A. also has the bodies to throw at Steph Curry in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and James. The Warriors sneaked by the Lakers 115-113 earlier in the season on a nearly flawless offensive performance coupled with poor shooting from James and AD. It’ll take a similar performance tonight for the Dubs to advance to face the Suns. Here we’ll preview the odds and lines and look over the injury report.
Warriors vs. Lakers pre-game odds
Spread: Lakers -5.5
Over/Under: 218
Moneyline: GSW +188, LAL -230
Warriors vs. Lakers injury report
Warriors updates
Damion Lee — The Warriors are in relatively good health heading into the play-in tournament game. Kelly Oubre, James Wiseman and of course Klay Thompson won’t be suiting up, but all three have been out for the season for a bit. Lee is in health and safety protocols and won’t play Wednesday night.
Lakers updates
LeBron James — Coach Frank Vogel told reporters on Tuesday that James is doing fine and will play in Wednesday’s game vs. the Dubs despite ankle soreness. LeBron appeared to tweak the ankle in the regular-season finale but only left briefly. It would be surprising to say the least if James was held out of this game.
Anthony Davis — AD is being listed as questionable (for whatever reason) for this game. He’s now dealing with a shoulder injury instead of the calf/leg issue that kept him out long-term. Similar to LeBron, there’s really no way AD doesn’t play in this game. Expect him to start and play a normal amount of minutes unless the Lakers coast to a win.