How will L.A. fare against the best team in the NBA?
Your 11-5 Los Angeles Lakers will be facing off against their arch-nemeses, the 21-7 Boston Celtics, tonight at 7 p.m. PT on TNT.
How will they fare? Will Anthony Davis keep crushing everyone in his path? Let’s take a gander at some gambling numbers, via The Action Network.
The Game Spread
The Celtics are surprisingly modest favorites to win tonight, with the spread set at just a 3.5 Boston edge against the Lakers at home. That said, the number in part could be impacted by betting lines (i.e. who’s betting money where). Sadly, I think Boston will cover.
Combined Points + Rebounds + Assists Totals For The Game’s Top Two Players
Anthony Davis, the best Lakers player, has been performing like a possible All-NBA Team honoree.
On the Celtics side, Jayson Tatum has emerged as a legitimate MVP contender, one season removed from making his own first All-NBA First Team.
Davis’s total combined points, rebounds and assists is projected at 43.5, while Tatum’s is set at 41.5. Davis is averaging 27.7 points, 12.4 rebounds, and 2.7 assists a night, which totals 42.8, but his numbers since his recent run of excellent have been better. Across his last 13 games (i.e. ever since he became the Lakers’ offensive priority), AD is averaging 31.4 points, 14.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists. The sum of those stats is a completely bonkers 48.4. Tatum is averaging 29.7 points, 8.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists a night, good for 41.9 (i.e. a smidge over his listed cumulative spread).
Take the overs for both and strap in.
LeBron James’s Total Combined (Steals + Blocks)
James’s projected over/under for combined steals and blocks is 1.5 (AD’s is 3.5). For the season, James is averaging 1.2 points and 0.6 blocks a night, which combined would in fact (just barely) cover the spread. He’ll need to be defensively engaged against a Celtics team that, without Robert Williams III, tends to play a bit small. Take the cover.
The action tips off in mere moments, at 7 p.m. PT on TNT.
