On Saturday evening, a high-powered Los Angeles Lakers squad takes on the Golden State Warriors in a West Coach clash. While the Dubs are dealing with injuries still, there’s value on the board regardless for those who know where to look in prop bet markets.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, Los Angeles is a 3.5-point favorite on the road with -170 odds to win on the Moneyline. The game total is set at 229.5 combined points.
Here are the top Lakers vs. Warriors prop bets on DraftKings Sportsbook for this matchup.
Best Lakers vs. Warriors player prop bets
Brandin Podziemski 16+ points (-103)
The Warriors are still working without Steph Curry as the superstar guard remains sidelined due to a knee issue, and of course Jimmy Butler is out for the year with his season-ending ligament tear. They’re somehow hanging around regardless, and Brandin Podziemski has played a large role over the last few games both before and after the All-Star break. The 23-year-old guard averages 12.3 points and 3.7 assists across 27.2 minutes a game, but has seen his role grow significantly since February 7.
Over the seven games since then, he’s played 30+ minutes in all but one contest with averages of 15.7 points, 8.6 rebounds and 5.0 assists. Yes, the sample size is small, but he’s looked quite solid while taking on a larger role in the offense with at least 12 FGA in all but one of those games.
The part to focus on in particular for tonight’s matchup is that Podziemski has produced at least 16 points in five out of those seven appearances. His tallies over this span are 14, 16, 16, 11, 18, 16 and 19 — meaning he’s hit this mark in three straight contests. Given his role in the attack with 14.0 FGA/GM and that the Lakers allow 115.9 PPG (17th) with the 24th-ranked DEFRTG, the outlook is far from poor in this one. If Kristaps Porzingis (questionable; illness) doesn’t play, that would mean even more shots for the rest of the lineup, including Podziemski.
Austin Reaves under 28.5 PTS + REB + AST (-125)
I really do love Austin Reaves’ game, and he showed major progress earlier this season in a featured role for the Lakers to balloon his numbers to 24.6 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game. However, there’s no denying that he’s slowed down since returning from injury back on February 3. He missed over a month between Christmas Day and that first game back — since getting healthy, he hasn’t been the same player. Prior to the injury, Reaves averaged 26.6 points, 6.3 assists and 5.2 rebounds for a combined PRA total of 38.1. In nine games since returning though, he’s producing 19.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists for a PRA total of 27.6.
It’s not because he’s become a worse player by any means. Rather, Reaves’ star teammates Luka Doncic and LeBron James have been mostly healthy unlike during his early stretch, simply pushing him further back in the pecking order. He’s notched 20+ points just twice over his last nine games even despite some nice shooting splits, and he’s seeing 3.6 fewer shots per game than he was over the first chunk of his season prior to the significant injury. Reaves still has plenty of upside, but it’s largely capped alongside Doncic and James; the recent results reflect that. After going under 28.5 PRA in six of his nine chances since getting healthy, Reaves should stay under the line again tonight.
