Germantas Kneita
Show Bio
The Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers will meet for the final time in the regular season tonight. The Clippers lead the season series 3-0 and will be confident of pulling off the season sweep. A loss for the Lakers would make it very tough for them to avoid having to win 2 play-in games to make the playoffs this season.
You can find our full game previews here. But for now check out my Lakers and Clippers same game parlay below.
LeBron James over 2.5 made threes (-111)
Nicolas Batum under 7.5 points (-116)
Russell Westbrook under 5.5 assists (+116)
Parlay odds: +638
LeBron James over 2.5 made threes (-111)
While LeBron James made only 2 of his 8 shots from deep in his last meeting against the Clippers, he could be set to improve on that tonight. He has made at least 3 3-pointers in 5 of his last 7 games for the Lakers. Over that stretch he attempted fewer than 7 shots from beyond the arc only once. Considering he is shooting 35.1% from there this season, that level of aggression should bode well for him hitting this line tonight.
Over the last 10 games the Los Angeles Clippers are 19th in opponent 3-point attempts per game. During that stretch they are also in the bottom 10 in the NBA in opponent 3-point makes and percentage. They allowed James 8 shots in the last game and a similar approach should lead to more makes this time.
Nicolas Batum under 7.5 points (-116)
While he is averaging 8.4 points per game over the whole season, Nicolas Batum has been struggling to score in recent games. Over the last 4 games he has scored just 12 points in total. Since the start of February, he has managed to score 8 or more points just 3 times in 11 games. A major cause of that is that he averaged only 6.1 field-goal attempts per game last month, shooting just over 41% from the field in the process. Considering he has not shot above 33.3% from the field in any of his last 4 games, he seems unlikely to break out of that slump tonight.
In his last game against the Lakers, Batum went scoreless in 19 minutes of playing time. The Lakers are 13th in the league in defensive rating over the last 10 games and they should be able to slow him down once more. They also allow the 10th-fewest 3-point attempts per game in that stretch and should be able to take away that part of the Clippers offense. Batum’s numbers should take a hit as a result.
Russell Westbrook under 5.5 assists (+116)
In 3 games against the Clippers this season, Russell Westbrook is averaging just 4.7 assists per game. He managed just 1 assist in 33 minutes of playing time the last time the teams met. In his previous game against the Clippers, he recorded just 4. Over the last 8 games it has been a trend for Westbrook, with 5 or fewer assists in 5 of those games. In 2 others he managed just 6.
Over the last 10 games the Clippers are 8th in the league in opponent assists per game. They also have a strong on-ball defender in Terance Mann, who has the athleticism and physicality to keep the Lakers guard out of the paint. By taking away his drive-and-kick opportunities, they should be able to limit his assists once more tonight.
Pickswise is the home of free NBA picks and predictions. Make sure to also check out our NBA parlays and NBA prop bets tabs for more expert picks.
