All Lakers Expert Predictions For Wizards Matchup On Second Night Of Back-To-Back
Hot off his 32-28 Los Angeles Lakers' most impressive comeback victory of the season, during which LA rallied from a 21-point fourth quarter deficit to vanquish the loathed LA Clippers 116-112 thanks to a 19-point LeBron James explosion in the frame, it's unclear whether or not the 20-time All-Star small forward will suit up for tonight's home matchup against old pal Kyle Kuzma and his Washington Wizards, who sport a league-worst 9-49 record (tied with the Detroit Pistons).
The Wizards have lost 12 in a row. With or without LeBron James in tow (or their six other already-confirmed absentee players), there's no excusing even a back-to-back loss.
Here are our expert predictions for tonight's bout, slated to tip off at 7:30 p.m. PT on Spectrum Sportsnet.
Can Los Angeles cover tonight's anticipated spread?
Per The Action Network, the Lakers are -9.5 favorites to hand the Wizards their 13th consecutive defeat. Even without LeBron James, Anthony Davis should manhandle all of Washington's new starting center, Marvin Bagley III (the Wiz flipped Daniel Gafford to the Dallas Mavericks, where he thrived immediately), and D'Angelo Russell will likely make mincemeat out of one of the great NBA chuckers, Jordan Poole.
Will Kyle Kuzma score more than his expected over/under? Will it make any impact on the game's outcome?
Kuzma, selected out of Utah with the No. 27 pick in 2017, spent his first four seasons with the Lakers, before he was shipped out to Washington as part of the Russell Westbrook deal in the summer of 2021 (whoops). He's averaging heady sums of 22.1 points on .458/.332/.778 shooting splits, 6.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 0.7 blocks and 0.5 steals -- albeit for the team tied for the worst record in the league, and seemingly destined to go down in history as one of the worst ever, so that output isn't exactly meaningful. We've seen him be a great sixth man, during the club's 2020 run to the title. The Action Network has set Kuzma's over/under line at 21.5 points tonight. Can he best that sum? He's been a bit erratic of late, although in four of his last five contests he's scored more than 21 points. Let's give him the benefit of the doubt, and bet on him to cover.
