The top team in the Western Conference, the Los Angeles Lakers visit the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night on ESPN. The Lakers have been rolling this season with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, while the Blazers have played better since signing Carmelo Anthony. The Blazers have actually won 8 of the last 10 meetings, but Los Angeles has taken two of the last three. Let’s look at the game between the Lakers and Trail Blazers and NBA picks.
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- Date and Time: Friday, December 6, 2019, 10:30 p.m. ET
- Location: Moda Center
- Opening NBA Odds: Check Back Later
- Lakers vs. Trail Blazers TV Coverage: ESPN
The Lakers have played really well this season under Frank Vogel and so far everything has meshed well together. Vogel was named the Western Conference coach of the month for the few games in October and then the month of November. The Lakers won 17 of their first 19 games and players have supported Vogel. “I love coach, and what the coaching staff are doing, I think he’s doing what’s best for the team, and obviously I respect that.” LeBron said to the media.
Vogel said that getting the players to buy-in has been critical. “The buy-in to any coaching situation is always important,” Vogel said to the media, “And when you win early, that comes faster. So, hopefully we’re off to a good start in that regard.”
The Lakers are averaging about 112 points per game and giving up 104 points per contest. They were 4-5 ATS in their first nine road games with four games going over and five going under.
Blazers Improved with Anthony
There is no question that Portland has been a better team since getting Carmelo Anthony. The Blazers still don’t play much defense, but Anthony has helped the offense and he averaged 17.7 points, 6 rebounds and 2.2 assists in his first six games. Anthony averaged 22.3 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists in his last three games. Before Anthony arrived, the Blazers were averaging 112.5 points per game, but since getting him they are averaging 116.2 points per contest.
Portland has a starting lineup of Anthony, Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, Rodney Hood and Hassan Whiteside. It is a lineup that gives Portland a chance to compete on a nightly basis and Portland has been outscoring opposing teams with that lineup on the floor.
The Blazers are averaging about 114 points per game and giving up about 115 points per contest. They were just 2-4-1 ATS in their first seven home games, with four going over and three going under.
Key Stats
The Blazers have won 8 of the last 10 in this NBA series, but last year the teams split their four meetings. Portland won 128-119 and 104-101, while the Lakers won 114-110 and 126-117. Seven of the last ten in the series have gone under the total. Portland has won 8 of the last 10 at home in this series, with five of the last seven going over the total.
This is not a great spot for Los Angeles, as they will be playing their third game in four days. The only positive is that they did have Thursday off. The Lakers are a very public team so the value will be on the Blazers and they have played much better since signing Anthony. I’ll take Portland plus the points on Friday night.
Lakers vs. Trail Blazers Score Prediction: Trail Blazers 111, Lakers 109
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