Tip off: 10:35 PM EST
Spread: LAL -9
Total: 194
M/L: LAL -510, POR +410
Betting Odds taken from Bookmaker
L.A.
The Lakers made a couple of big moves at the trade deadline, jettisoning Derek Fisher, and acquiring Ramon Sessions. In another huge loss, they lost Luke Walton, meaning lonely women will have one less goofy player to fantasize over.
In all seriousness, though, Sessions should make a big difference, and Kobe Bryant already said that Sessions enables him to play more like a shooting guard again. Sessions had some huge games in his rookie season with the Bucks, including a 20+ point 20+ assist game. He’s shown a lot of potential and could end up being a huge reason for the Lakers’ ascent as this second half winds down.
As always, the secret to the Lakers success may be the health of Andrew Bynum’s knees. If he remains healthy, the Lakers are a very dangerous team, but they need their twin towers to do it. Pau Gasol is declining rapidly, but is still a very valuable player capable of big nights.
Lakers Betting Trends:
The Lakers are 21-25 ATS this season and 13-17 ATS as a favorite They are 13-9 ATS in home games and 4-7 ATS in March. They are 6-2 ATS after three consecutive overs and they are 5-1 ATS in games as a favorite of 6 to 9.5 points.
Portland
The Trail Blazers are now officially rebuilding. They’ve made it clear that Nicolas Batum and LaMarcus Aldridge are the focus of that effort. They released Greg Oden and Brandon Roy was amnestied after suffering a degenerative career ending injury.
The Blazers aren’t in bad shape moving forward though, since this season has already been written off. The draft is loaded, and LaMarcus Aldridge will pair very nicely with a number of prospects that the Blazers could obtain. WIth their struggles at the point, they may be tempted to take Brandon Marshall of North Carolina, if they pick in the right range, which I think they will. It’s odd to write about the NBA Draft in a team preview for a game, but there’s not really a lot else for Blazers fans to be excited about, truth be told.
Blazers Betting Trends:
Portland is 22-25 ATS this season and 5-12 ATS as an underdog. They are 8-16 ATS on the road and 4-8 ATS in March. They are 9-10 revenging a loss vs an opponent and 13-14 ATS vs teams with winning records.
