Due to the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles, the Lakers have not played a basketball game since all the way back on January 7. However, the team will take the court this evening at 10:30 p.m. ET to finish off Monday’s six-game NBA slate. Los Angeles will be welcoming San Antonio. The Lakers are 3.5-point favorites on the DraftKings Sportsbook. The game has a total set at 220.5.
Let’s explore how the public is backing this contest.
Betting Splits
Bettors are clearly confident that the Lakers will be victorious this evening, as Los Angeles is getting 74% of the bets on the moneyline and 60% on the spread. It makes sense. The Lakers are certainly well-rested and the team’s veteran core of LeBron James and Anthony Davis are healthy. Los Angeles is 7-4 in its last 11 games, yet that’s a span where the team has only outscored opponents by a margin of 1.6 points per 100 possessions. In contrast, the Spurs have a 2.6-point net rating in their last 11 games — the 10th-best mark in the NBA.
The total is where we see some very intriguing action. While 76% of the bets are coming in on the over, 87% of the handle is on the under, implying that the big bettors are envisioning a low-scoring affair. I can see their logic. Each of San Antonio’s past five contests have gone under, as the team has struggled to score efficiently the past two weeks. To wit, the Spurs own the league’s third-lowest offensive rating in January (106.6), sitting ahead of just the injury-plagued Magic and the tanking Nets. Meanwhile, the Lakers possess the Western Conference’s slowest pace so far this month (95.4).
Most Popular Player Props
Here are the top five most-bet player props for tonight’s game:
- LeBron James Triple-Double: Yes (+550)
- Devin Vassell 3+ Three-Pointers (+155)
- Devin Vassell Under 3.5 Assists (-120)
- Austin Reaves Under 5.5 Rebounds (-160)
- Victor Wembanyama Over 10.5 Rebounds (-120)
There are a lot of things that make LeBron James impressive, but enticing this many people to bet on a 40-year-old man to secure a triple-double is suddenly near the top of my own personal list. James has registered a triple-double in eight of his 33 starts this season, with the most recent coming back on December 23 against the Pistons. That said, the All-Star has just missed accomplishing the feat in the Lakers’ past two games, coming a single assist short against the Rockets and two dimes away versus the Mavericks. Heck, James enters Monday’s action ranking third in the league in potential assists per game (16.5). The man remains elite.
It’s not too surprising to see Victor Wembanyama join James on the list of most-bet props. Many are backing the sophomore big man to grab at least 11 rebounds in this evening’s tilt, yet despite his jaw-dropping height, it should be noted that Wembanyama has only hit the over on this prop in five of his last 14 starts. That said, the Lakers sit 25th in the league in total rebounding rate (48.4%), so maybe Wembanyama will dominate the glass in Los Angeles.
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All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS or DKSB contests.
