Plenty of teams are doubling up on no rest heading into Saturday’s nine-game slate, including the LA Clippers as they face their crosstown rivals, the Lakers. Meanwhile in the East, Miami travel to Atlanta in an important division matchup for both sides.
LA Clippers @ LA Lakers
The Clippers caused a huge upset last start, led by new recruit Bennedict Mathurin, taking down Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets.
They now head down the road to the Staples Center to face the Lakers, who are expected to welcome back Luka Doncic.
The Lakers have played 54 games this season, but LeBron, Luka and Reaves have shared the floor in just ten of them. Can the trio deliver a statement performance?
LEG 1 - LeBron James Under 20.5 Points
Luka, Reaves and LeBron are expected to suit up together for just the 11th time this season. One of them is likely to sacrifice shot volume, and I expect it to be LeBron.
James is averaging 18.4 points in the ten games the trio have played together, clearing 20.5 points in just three of those.
The Clippers have restricted power forwards well over the last month, holding the position 12% below league-average scoring. Expect the Lakers’ backcourt to carry more of the offensive load.
LEG 2 - LeBron James 6+ Assists
While the scoring may dip, the assist numbers don’t.
LeBron’s assists increase slightly when playing alongside Luka and Reaves, averaging 7.2 per game in those matchups.
Across the ten games they’ve played together, LeBron has recorded 6+ assists on eight occasions and enters this matchup off four straight double-digit assist performances.
LEG 3 - John Collins 6+ Rebounds
John Collins has taken on greater rebounding responsibility for the Clippers following the departures of Zubac and Harden.
He’s averaging 7.3 rebounds across his last nine games, clearing 6+ in eight of those, including 12 against the Nuggets last start.
Someone has to control the glass for the Clippers. It won’t be Brook Lopez.
Same Game Multi
LeBron Under 20.5 Points / LeBron 6+ Assists / Collins 6+ Rebounds = $3.60
Value Bet - LA Lakers 11+ @ $2.50
Assuming Luka is cleared to play, this shapes as a strong bounce-back spot for the Lakers.
The Clippers enter on no rest after an emotional upset win over Denver, with their core rotation all logging 29+ minutes.
The Lakers are elite front-runners at home. Among teams that have played 10+ home games as favourites this season, LA holds the best cover rate at 70.6%. If they get rolling early, this could blow out quickly, especially if Kawhi’s minutes are managed.
