L.A. Lakers at Chicago Bulls
Time: 7 PM CST (NBA TV), Tuesday.
Spread: LAL -6.5
Total: 214
Odds c/o 5dimes
The Los Angeles Lakers are 5-1 and enter Tuesday night’s affair with the Chicago Bulls as winners of its last five straight. The Lakers are 2-1 on the road, and it enters Chicago as 6.5-point favorites according to NBA oddsmakers at bookmaker 5dimes. The over/under is set at 214 total points, and the game will at 7 PM (CST) on NBA TV.
LA LAKERS NEWS & NOTES:
Any issues the L.A. Lakers were anticipated to have in terms of chemistry and matchup issues seem pretty null at this point. The Lakers have won its last five games, and Anthony Davis and LeBron James mesh as seamlessly as one would expect two All-NBA caliber talents to do so.
Davis is averaging 28.5 points, 11.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 4.0 block/steals per game while posting a team-best PER of 30.24. James has been nothing short of his usual self, at least offensively. LBJ is tallying 25.5 points, eight rebounds and 11.2 assists playing over 35 minutes a night.
The remainder of the Lakers has done its job, too, from Avery Bradley’s stifling defense to Dwight Howard’s now-infectious energy and paint clogging reserve work. The Lakers were anticipated to have some sort of issue at the 5-spot, but with Howard playing a lot more like his “old self,” and JaVale McGee doing just fine in his own right, the Lakers will only get more-loaded when DeMarcus Cousins eventually does return from injury.
Swingman and stretch-4 Kyle Kuzma finally appeared after missing the first four games, and he is on minutes-restrictions attempting to shake some rust, as it is. Kuzma has seen just 17 minutes per game in his first two appearances, and he is not really clicking at all just yet. Danny Green has provided the court spacing and shooting the Lakers anticipated, and he has had some big games already this season despite being somewhat inconsistent overall.
The Lakers have a strong and deep team, the latter of which was hardly expected, but has certainly become the case with the likes of Alex Caruso, Quinn Cook, and Troy Daniels filling out the bottom of an 11-man rotation. The Lakers have had a few surprises, but contending should not really be one: This is a team with the league’s most-dominant offensive big and one of the best talents of all-time.
L.A. winds up toward these loaded lineups every so often, and if James can avoid an early falloff, this team could win multiple titles. Then again, that speech seems to be a bit eerie recalling James “Not 5, Not 6,” speech in Miami. For now, the Lakers will focus on beating the Bulls and contending in 2019-20 so as not to put the proverbial cart before the horse.
CHICAGO NEWS & NOTES:
The Chicago Bulls is 2-5 and it has lost three of its last four overall, the last being a 95-108 loss to the Indiana Pacers. The Bulls are clearly still in a rebuilding phase, but this is not a team devoid of talent or promise. Zach LaVine became the third-highest scoring Chicago Bull behind only Michael Jordan and Derrick Rose for his first 92 games in Bulls’ threads.
LaVine is averaging 21.1 points per game while shooting 43 percent from the floor and just under 40 percent from three-point range. Lauri Markannen is rounding into form after an injury-plagued campaign a year ago, and he is still struggling to find his timing and his jump shot, shooting just 38.7 percent from the field and 25 percent from behind the arc.
The other two Bulls to really keep an eye on are Wendell Carter Jr. and rookie Coby White. Carter Jr. is a powerful big-bodied center who is averaging 14 points and nine rebounds per game in his second NBA season, while White has shown immense promise as a scoring rookie off the bench.
In 22 minutes per game, White averages 10.4 points and 2.3 assists per game, but he has already had a couple of whoppers in this young season. White scored 17 against the Charlotte Hornets Oct 23, and he followed it with a 25-point, six-rebound game the next game in a win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Oct 25.
While the Bulls are nothing close to a threat to any of the contenders in the Eastern Conference, it is a team with a few really nice talents in place that it could craft into a playoff team sooner than later. The Bulls are young and that causes its typical problems, but there is plenty of talent in the Windy City.
