All Lakers Expert Predictions For LA-Pistons Showdown

A middling West squad faces off against one of the worst teams in history.

Tonight, at 7:30 p.m. PT, your mediocre 28-26 Los Angeles Lakers, the ninth seed in the Western Conference, will do battle against one of the worst teams in not just the East this year, but possibly in league history.

As new Laker Spencer Dinwiddie gears up for his debut with his hometown team, the journeyman combo guard be facing off against one of his prior clubs, Monty Williams' 8-44 Detroit Pistons.

This should be a total gimme, right? LA is missing several role players, but all its starters are healthy, and Dinwiddie’s addition essentially solves the absence of Gabe Vincent anyway.

Here are our answers to your burning questions.

Will Los Angeles cover its projected spread?

LA is clearly expected to win, but will it not just win, but win big? Vegas seems to think so. To wit, sports book aggregator The Action Network indicates LA is a -10.5 point favorite over Detroit tonight. With now three days off since its last matchup, a 139-122 Friday blowout over the New Orleans Pelicans, the team’s perennially ailing All-Stars have had an opportunity to rest their weary bones. Look for the Lakers to cover.

How will Spencer Dinwiddie perform in his LA debut?

He’s been pretty uneven this season, despite getting plenty of run while starting all 48 games for the East’s 11th-seeded Brooklyn Nets before he was flipped to the Toronto Raptors and subsequently waived. Now, he’ll be backing up D’Angelo Russell and Austin Rivers as LA’s third guard. He’ll get plenty of touches when he’s out there, but presumably his minutes will be limited to 25 or so (he averaged 30.7 minutes with Brooklyn this year). Look for him to score more efficiently than he generally has this year in a reduced role with less responsibility — and thus less pressure.

Which Pistons player will step up on a reconfigured, rebuilding club headed nowhere?

Detroit's brutal record represents the worst win percentage (.154) in franchise history. The club offloaded two of its top six scorers, veterans Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks, to the New York Knicks at this season's trade deadline last week. Detroit also straight-up cut former 2020 lottery pick Killian Hayes. So who will step up? For whatever reason, head coach Williams has been reticent to trust former lottery pick guard Jaden Ivey, at times removing him from the starting five for no inscrutable reason. But with Burks and Hayes gone, Ivey should get more run in LA's backcourt out of necessity. Ivey's scoring line over/under for tonight is set at a solid 20.5 points on The Action Network, far above his season average of 15.5 points on .462/.374/.720 shooting. I could see it happening... while the Pistons lose by 15.