Utah Jazz vs Los Angeles Lakers Prediction, Odds and Picks for Monday, 02/10/25

Luka Doncic to record 8+ assists (+115)

Coming off a calf injury, Doncic might take it a bit easier as far as attacking the basket goes, just so he doesn’t risk re-injuring himself. Because of this, I feel like backing him to rack up some assists is a solid bet. What better impression to make on your new team and the fanbase than by spreading the wealth? The Lakers have been on a tear offensively, ranking 6th in offensive efficiency over their last 10 games. During this stretch they’ve done a fabulous job at moving the ball with their assist ratio at 20.3, which is the 5th-highest number in the entire NBA.

Doncic should fit in perfectly into his role as the main distributor — imagine the upgrade you are getting if you are a Laker going from D’Angelo Russell to Luka Doncic as your main point guard in less than 6 weeks. Prior to his injury, Doncic was averaging 7.8 assists per game. Against the Jazz, that number jumps up to 10.4 assists per game in the last 5 meetings head-to-head.

LeBron James 2+ made threes (-220)

The run that 40-year-old LeBron James is on is truly remarkable. Over his last 20 games, he has failed to make a single three only twice, while shooting at an incredible 44.9% efficiency. He’s cleared this line 14 times during this stretch, averaging 2.4 makes per game on 5.4 attempts. Many people are saying he and Doncic cannot co-exist because both need the basketball to be effective, but I don’t think that will be the case. Great players always figure out a way to play with each other — just look at the Miami Heat days when they had LeBron and Dwyane Wade on the same roster.

This Jazz defense is one of the worst in the league and their last 3 opponents have knocked down 38.5% of threes against them. For comparison, the league-worst Knicks are allowing 38% on a nightly basis, which just shows how bad the Jazz have been in this segment lately. As far as head-to-head meetings go, James has cooked the Jazz regularly in the last 10 games. He’s at 2.4 threes made per game on 32.4% efficiency while clearing this line 6 times. His numbers would have been even better if it wasn’t for a pair of games where he went 0-for-9 and 0-for-5, but with the way he has shot the ball lately, I have full confidence in him draining a couple from downtown here.

Jordan Clarkson over 18.5 points (+102)

With not much to play for at the moment, the Jazz can relax and play a free-flowing offensive style. This should open up the court for the likes of former Laker Jordan Clarkson, who has enjoyed a really solid spell of play lately. In his last 6 games, Clarkson is averaging 20.2 points per game and has cleared this line in 3 straight games against Indiana, Golden State and the Clippers, which is impressive considering the level of defense those teams play.

Clarkson has faced the Lakers once this year already, finishing that game with 18 points in just 26 minutes of action. With him playing 30+ minutes in his last 3 games, there’s a strong possibility that he will be able to improve on that effort at crypto.com Arena tonight. LA’s biggest problem will be their interior defense, with the Mark Williams trade now being voided. The addition of Doncic also doesn’t help defensively, so I believe the pace of Clarkson will be too much for LA to handle in this game.