The All-Star break is looming, but there is a 13-game slate scheduled for Wednesday, February 14. The Los Angeles Lakers (29-26) will take on the Utah Jazz (26-28) at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City with tipoff scheduled for 9 p.m. ET. This game will only be available on local TV and will be the Lakers’ last game before the break.
Star small forward LeBron James will not play for the Lakers in this game as he deals with an ankle injury. Los Angeles is expected to be without point guard Gabe Vincent, guard Max Christie and SF Cam Reddish. Utah is much healthier and doesn’t have any players on its injury report heading into the game.
The Jazz are the 5.5-point favorites at DraftKings Sportsbook. Utah is the -205 moneyline favorite, while Los Angeles is installed as the +170 underdog. The point total is set at 240.5.
Lakers vs. Jazz, 9 p.m. ET
Pick ATS: Jazz -5.5
This is the third and final time this season the Lakers and Jazz will match up. Utah lost the first game 131-99 in November but picked up the 132-125 victory in the January rematch. The Jazz need a win, and an injury-riddled Lakers team could provide the perfect opponent to get off their two-game losing streak. The Jazz are favored and are 30-23-1 against the spread this year, which is the fourth-best record in the NBA. Los Angeles is 26-30 ATS, the ninth-worst record in the league.
The Lakers have won five of their last six games. It’s going to be very hard for them to replicate the 24.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 7.8 assists that will be missing as James sits to try and heal his ankle injury ahead of the second half of the season beginning next week. Los Angeles may be able to keep the game close, but Utah has been the best ATS team at home this season and should cover on Wednesday.
Over/Under: Under 240.5
The Lakers’ scoring potential will likely be capped with several players missing in action tonight. Still, Los Angeles hasn’t scored fewer than 106 points since January 3 and has scored fewer than 112 points just once in their last 10 games. Utah hasn’t been as high-scoring, putting up 107 points in their loss on Monday. 56.6% of the Jazz’s games have hit the over, which is the fifth-most in the league. The Lakers aren’t far behind at 53.6%, suggesting the over is a good bet, but the missing pieces for Los Angeles is enough for me to take the under.