All Lakers Expert Predictions As LA Strives To Defend Home Again

All things considered, your Los Angeles Lakers have certainly enjoyed a charmed run through the first three games of its best-of-seven first round series with the Memphis Grizzlies.

The injury bug, which had beset the Lakers frequently during the 2022-23 regular season, bit Memphis ahead of these playoffs. Key big men Steven Adams and Brandon Clarke have been ruled out for the entire postseason with various ailments, while All-Star point guard Ja Morant missed a game due to an aggravated right hand bone bruise. Ironically, that was the only game so far that Los Angeles has lost!

Can LA, leading this series 2-1, keep the good vibes going tonight during its second straight home contest? Check out our expert predictions below.

1. Will D'Angelo Russell make better than 50% of his field goals for the first time in his playoff career?

You read that right. D-Lo has never made more than 50% of his shots across his first 14 playoff games (he's never made more than 44.4%, to be precise). In his first three contests for this series, Russell is averaging 13.7 points on 33.3% shooting from the floor. If there was ever a time for him to have an efficient night, it would be right now, for his Lakers to get a stranglehold on this series with a 3-1 edge on the line. Do I think he will? Well, his luck's got to turn some time, right?

2. Which Anthony Davis will we see tonight on offense?

AD has turned in two terrific nights on offense across his first three games of the series, but had a Game 2 to forget, scoring just 13 points on 4-of-14 shooting from the floor. For LA to have a chance to grab a virtually insurmountable 3-1 lead (virtually), he'll need to step up again at home. I'm confident he can.

3. Can Los Angeles win?

I previously predicted that the Lakers, favored to take Game 4 tonight, would whiff on their anticipated 4.5-point spread. But does that mean I think they'll lose? I'm a little dubious that the terrific two-way play LA displayed in the first half of Game 3 can be sustained against a talented and athletic Memphis club, even though it's missing some key rotation pieces. But yes, I'll give the Lakers the edge in what I expect to be a nail-biter.

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