The All-Star break is finally over, with a standalone game set to kick off the second half. The 13-39 Hornets visit the 32-20 Lakers on Wednesday in a battle between teams headed in opposite directions. If there’s any solace for Charlotte, LaMelo Ball is one of the NBA’s most exciting young players. On the other side, LeBron James and new teammate Luka Doncic might be the best duo in basketball.
The home team enters tonight’s contest as 12.5-point favorites, with the over/under set at 228.5 points on DraftKings Sportsbook. Here’s how the public is betting tonight’s matchup in Los Angeles.
Betting Splits
It isn’t a shock to see such heavy support for the Lakers, one of the biggest fanbases in basketball. 78% of the handle and 86% of all bets are backing Los Angeles on the moneyline. The spread looks similar, with 77% of the handle and 70% of all bets placed with the home team. It’s safe to say that the public doesn’t trust the lottery-bound Hornets to keep this game close.
Rarely does the total look more even than the spread and moneyline, but that’s the case tonight. 76% of the handle and 66% of bets are expecting more than 228.5 points. Those numbers are certainly high, but less so when considering the public’s tendency to back the over.
Most Popular Player Props
Here are the five player props in tonight’s matchup receiving the most bets:
- Luka Doncic 1st Points Scorer (+450)
- LaMelo Ball 7+ Assists (-165)
- Austin Reaves over 11.5 rebounds + assists (-110)
- Austin Reaves under 21.5 points (-125)
- LeBron James 8+ assists (-185)
The buzz around Luka Doncic’s sudden trade to Los Angeles doesn’t seem to be dying down. Still, the young superstar isn’t garnering many bets in other categories. That’s mainly due to the uncertainty behind his calf injury recovery; it’s unlikely the Slovenian handles a full workload on Wednesday. Plenty of bettors expect the five-time All-Star to come out of the gates strong as tonight’s first scorer.
LaMelo Ball is the only Hornets player present in Wednesday’s top five, and for good reason. He makes up the majority of Charlotte’s offense, thanks in large part to a league-leading usage rate of 37.3%. While Ball is known more for his scoring, there should be numerous assist opportunities available tonight. Against a middling Lakers defense, the former Rookie of the Year has double-double potential.
Interestingly, the public is fading Austin Reaves as a scorer while backing his all-around game. The fourth-year pro is firmly entrenched as L.A.’s third option on offense behind Doncic and James. Playing with future Hall of Famers could make scoring difficult, forcing the guard into the role of a distributor. This season, the Oklahoma alum is averaging 19.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game.
The most common LeBron James prop has The King reaching eight assists. On the season, LBJ has recorded a team-leading 9.0 dimes per game. When these two teams last met on January 27th, the four-time MVP produced eight assists over 36 minutes. This feels like a reasonable total for tonight’s matchup…as long as Charlotte doesn’t get blown out.
