The Los Angeles Lakers have reinforcements waiting at home, as star guard Austin Reaves is expected to rejoin the lineup for Wednesday’s Game 5 against the Houston Rockets at Crypto.com Arena.
Los Angeles jumped out to a stunning 3–0 lead with both Reaves and Luka Doncic sidelined — with superstar LeBron James turning back the clock to deliver another playoff performance for the ages. And after dropping Game 4 in Houston, the Lakers will look to take care of business in front of their home crowd.
Tipoff is set for 10:10 p.m. ET. Los Angeles enters as a 3.5-point home favorite with -175 moneyline odds. Houston counters as a +145 underdog, with the game total set at 208.5 points.
Ahead of Game 5, let’s dive into the top LeBron James prop bet on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Best LeBron James Prop Bet for Rockets vs. Lakers Game 5
Best Bet: LeBron James 9+ Assists (-102)
Father Time waits for no one — except LeBron James.
At 41 years old, the superstar forward remains one of the league’s most imposing forces, especially come playoff time. Without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, the man who stormed to eight consecutive NBA Finals has averaged 21.5 points, 8.8 assists, and 8.3 rebounds to stake the Lakers to a commanding 3–1 lead over the Rockets.
One of the most skilled playmakers in NBA history, James has reached nine assists in two of the first four games of the series. He’s well-positioned to do it again Wednesday night. As reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania, “all signs point to” Reaves rejoining the lineup for Game 5. He was upgraded to questionable and should be a game-time decision.
Not only would Reaves — who averaged a career-high 23.3 points during the regular season — bolster LA’s chances of winning, but it would also provide LeBron with another formidable scoring threat to defer to throughout the contest. Already flanked by the scorching-hot trio of Luke Kennard, Marcus Smart, and Rui Hachimura, expect James to continue orchestrating the offense and reach nine assists as he attempts to vault the Lakers into the second round.
