The Los Angeles Clippers look to win their fifth game in a row as they wrap up their four-game season series against the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday. The Clippers (33-31), who have won six straight meetings against the Lakers – including all three this season – are coming off a 113-100 victory at Houston on Tuesday. The Lakers (27-34) were defeated 109-104 by Dallas two days ago, their third consecutive loss and sixth in seven games. The Clippers are still without Anthony Davis (ankle), while Paul George (elbow) and Kawhi Leonard (knee) are out indefinitely.
The game is set to begin at 10 p.m. ET at Crypto.com Arena. In the most recent Clippers vs. Lakers odds from Caesars Sportsbook, the Clippers are 2.5-point favorites, with an over/under of 220.5 points scored. Before making any Lakers vs. Clipper predictions, you should consult the SportsLine Projection Model’s NBA predictions and betting advice.
Over the past three seasons, the SportsLine Projection Model has simulated every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks. The model enters Week 19 of the 2021-22 NBA season with a 71-44 record on all top-rated NBA picks, returning more than $2,100. Anyone who has followed it has seen massive returns.
The model has now dissected the Lakers vs. Clippers matchup from every angle and has just revealed its coveted picks and NBA predictions. You can see the model’s picks on SportsLine right now. Here are the Clippers vs. Lakers NBA odds and betting lines.
Why the Clippers are capable of covering
The Clippers’ four-game winning streak includes three wins over the Rockets and a 105-102 victory over the Lakers last Friday. During the streak, they’ve had four different leading scorers, with Terance Mann leading the way with 19 points in the win over the Lakers. The 25-year-old shooting guard also had 10 rebounds, giving him his fifth double-double of the season and his first since Dec. 31 against Toronto.
Only nine players saw action against the Lakers, but seven of them scored in double figures, including all four who came off the bench. Ivica Zubac led the Clippers with 22 points and 12 rebounds on Tuesday, his fourth double-double in five games and 17th of the season. It was only the 24-year-old Croatian center’s second 20-point game of the season, following a season-high 32 in an overtime loss at Denver in January.
Why the Lakers are capable of covering
Regardless of the team’s current struggles, LeBron James continues to produce, and the Lakers will need him on the court if they are to end their losing streak. The four-time NBA MVP, who is questionable due to a knee injury, is third in the league in scoring average at 28.9 points per game. James is coming off his 17th double-double of the season, in which he scored 26 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in a 109-104 loss to Dallas on Tuesday.
James, 37, hasn’t been held to fewer than 20 points since Dec. 17, when he had 18 against Minnesota. Carmelo Anthony, the veteran power forward, had one of his best offensive performances of the season in the loss to the Mavericks, scoring 20 points off the bench. The 10-time All-Star is averaging 13.6 points per game and has only scored 20 points five times since November 8.
Picking the Los Angeles Clippers vs. the Lakers
SportsLine’s model favors the total, predicting 226 total points. It also claims that one side of the spread hits nearly 70% of the time. Only at SportsLine can you get the model’s pick.
