Jazz vs. Lakers Prediction, Odds and Best NBA Prop Bets for Sunday, April 12

Well, the Los Angeles Lakers aren’t done yet.

Superstar LeBron James (questionable tonight) has picked up the slack in a big way with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves injured, keeping the Lakers in play for the No. 3 seed in the West on the final day of the regular season.

The Lakers need a win and a loss from the Denver Nuggets on Sunday to get the No. 3 seed, but they did guarantee themselves a home-court advantage in the first round by beating the Phoenix Suns on Friday. Los Angeles holds the tiebreaker over the Houston Rockets, who are a game back of L.A. and locked into the No. 5 seed in the West.

Now, L.A. gets to face a tanking Utah Jazz team (just 22 wins this season) on the final day of the regular season. While a playoff run may not be likely without Doncic and Reaves, the Lakers can put themselves in the best position possible by getting a win as home favorites tonight.

Let’s take a look at the odds, a player prop to consider and my prediction for Sunday’s Western Conference matchup.

Jazz vs. Lakers Odds, Spread and Total

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Spread

Jazz +15.5 (-110)
Lakers -15.5 (-110)

Moneyline

Jazz: +750
Lakers: -1200

Total

236.5 (Over -110/Under -110)

Jazz vs. Lakers How to Watch

Date: Sunday, April 12
Time: 8:30 p.m. EST
Venue: Crypto.com Arena
How to Watch (TV): Spectrum Sportsnet, KJZZ
Jazz record: 22-59
Lakers record: 52-29

Jazz vs. Lakers Injury Reports

Jazz Injury Report

Lauri Markkanen – out
Jusuf Nurkic – out
Walker Kessler – out
Jaren Jackson Jr. – out
Elijah Harkless – out
Keyonte George – out
Kyle Filipowski – out
Isaiah Collier – out

Lakers Injury Report

Luka Doncic – out
Austin Reaves – out
LeBron James – questionable
Jaxson Hayes – questionable

Jazz vs. Lakers Best NBA Prop Bets

Lakers Best NBA Prop Bet

LeBron James 10+ Assists (+102)

Since Luka Doncic (hamstring) and Austin Reaves (oblique) went down, LeBron James has taken over the No. 1 role for the Lakers and is thriving. He’s picked up at least 11 dimes in three games in a row, and he should handle a major workload on April 12 against Utah.

The Jazz are 29th in the NBA in defensive rating this season, and they’ve allowed the most assists to opponents in the league. James has picked up 10 or more dimes in his last four games without Doncic, averaging 22.6 points, 10.7 assists and 7.3 rebounds per game in 10 games.

In three games against the Jazz, LeBron has 12, eight and 10 dimes. He should have even more playmaking responsibility on Sunday.

Jazz vs. Lakers Prediction and Pick

The Lakers have failed to go over this total in four of their last five games, and they’re down two of their best offensive players while James is up in the air for Sunday’s contest.

Utah is sitting just about every single rotation mainstay on April 12, and even though it ranks 29th in defensive rating this season, it’s also 25th in offensive rating since the All-Star break.

Both of these teams have hit the OVER in the majority of their games, but I’m going to zag here with the Lakers so short-handed. Los Angeles has combined for 174, 222 and 210 points over its last three games.

Even if the Jazz push the pace and try to turn this into a track meet, I don’t think they’re going to be efficient enough to push this game near the 240 mark.

Pick: UNDER 236.5 (-110 at DraftKings)

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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Find Peter Dewey's NBA betting record here (futures included). You can also follow my daily plays on BetStamp here.

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