Lakers Odds: Gambling On LA Ahead Of Tonight's Philadelphia Bout
Joel Embiid and James Harden are touching down in LA to square off against your Los Angeles Lakers tonight. Given the health status of the home team, it's going to be an uphill battle for Los Angeles to avoid its third straight loss.
Let's take a gander at some fun odds and lines ahead of this evening's action, via gambling aggregator The Action Network.
The Game Spread
As tends to be the case for LA this season, the opposition is favored to win tonight, despite the game being set on LA's home turf. The spread for the Sixers to be victorious is 3.5. Can Los Angeles cover, even without four of their best eight players? I'm skeptical, but LeBron James has made me eat my words before. King James is merely probable to suit up tonight, however, so for now I'm going to officially vote on Philadelphia to cover.
Thomas Bryant's Total Blocks
LA's current starting center has been a revelation on the offensive end while playing in the place of All-Star big man Anthony Davis. In his 14 starts since taking over the gig for The Brow, Bryant has been averaging 16.5 points on a .636/.476/.763 slash line, 10.4 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 0.6 steals per contest. He has not been anywhere AD's level defensively, however. His blocking numbers reflect that, as even in this starting stretch he's averaged just 0.4 rejections a night. Can he beat the projected over/under of 0.5 blocks out of Vegas? Against Joel Embiid, it would sure help if he could. But it feels tenuous. Take the under.
Dennis Schröder's Total Steals
Your Lakers' starting center, likewise, has not been averaging big numbers in the steals department. On the year, he's logging 0.6 swipes per game. The official estimated line is 0.5. Take the over, if you're feeling lucky.