It’s been an eventful season for both Los Angeles NBA teams. The Clippers successfully added James Harden and found their rhythm once he settled in.
The Lakers won the inaugural in-season tournament but have otherwise struggled in falling below expectations. Among their highlights are a pair of wins over their Crypto.com Arena co-residents, snapping an 11-game losing streak against the Clips that dated back to Dec. 2020.
Handicapping Lakers vs. Clippers betting odds, props, and predictions comes down to determining whether LA’s more storied team can reverse recent trends by pulling off something it hasn’t accomplished in over a decade. Complicating matters is the Lakers now have to win without LeBron James, who won’t play due to an ankle injury.
The Lakers (22-22 SU, 19-25 ATS) haven’t beaten the Clippers (27-14, 22-19) three times in the same season since 2010-11 and haven’t won three straight against them since ‘09, so this would be a great win to capture. It would also give the Lakers four victories in a five-game stretch for the first time in 2024 since they haven’t done that since early December.
Beating the Clippers would’ve been no easy task even with a healthy James since they come in playing great basketball, sporting the NBA’s best winning percentage since December began (.826), prevailing in 19 of 23 contests.
One of their four losses came on Jan. 7 in a 106-103 result against the Lakers while favored. That’s an important distinction since the first meeting on Nov. 1 didn’t include the just acquired Harden and went to OT. The meeting a few weeks ago included the key rotation pieces from both teams and was only clinched when a Norman Powell desperation 3-pointer narrowly missed.
Clips center Ivica Zubac led them with 22 points and 19 rebounds but won’t participate here due to a calf strain that will keep him out the next few weeks. James has led LA in scoring in both wins, averaging 30 points in addition to 10 rebounds and seven assists. That production will now have to be sufficiently replaced by more than just Anthony Davis having a monster game in order for the Lakers to have any chance.
Lakers vs. Clippers odds: Point spread, moneyline, total
Here are the latest NBA betting odds for Lakers vs. Clippers:
Lakers betting news: LeBron out, Prince back
Given the inconsistency the Lakers have shown since winning the in-season tournament, this has been an important stretch and began with that Jan. 7 upset of the Clippers. They had just lost a season-high fourth straight game in blowout fashion to Memphis and really needed a boost. Forward Taurean Prince made a huge 3-pointer and critical free throws to help deliver the win in what felt like a must-win playoff game.
Although they’ve lost some stinkers since, LA has also beaten Oklahoma City and Dallas and comes off matching its highest-scoring output of the season beating Portland 134-110 on Sunday.
The Lakers are back at .500 through 44 games with 38 left, play one more home date Thursday against the Bulls and then depart on their annual Grammy road trip from Jan. 27-Feb. 5. Prince is off the injury report after missing the Blazers win due to knee soreness.
LA is 2-2 without James this season, but fell when he missed his most recent game on Jan. 13 in Utah, 132-125. Anthony Davis, listed as probable despite Achilles tendinopathy in both feet, has averaged 24.5 points and 10 boards in the two wins over the Clippers, slightly lower than his clips for the season (24.9 ppg, 12.5 rpg). He’ll likely have to blow those numbers away on Tuesday night to keep this game competitive.
Expect Rui Hachimura to remain in the starting lineup while James sits, with D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves getting the bulk of the work at guard. Russell averaged just 10.2 points in December but has picked up his production in the new year. He’s scored 27.2 points over his last five games, shooting 22-for-41 from 3-point range.
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Clippers betting news: Replacing Zubac will be a tall task on upcoming road trip
The Clips lost their first full game without Zubac in Minnesota, but they’ve increased their tempo and efficiency in double-digit wins over the Thunder (128-117) and Nets (125-114), covering the spread against both.
Five of the Clippers’ last six games have gone OVER the posted total, as they’ve averaged nearly 130 points in their last five wins, the last of which came as a result of a wild game-ending 22-0 run against Brooklyn on Sunday.
Paul George shot 5-for-17 and went 5-for-19 in the loss to the Timberwolves, but he’s also had his two highest-scoring games of the season inside the last four games, so consistency will be important in this one. He’s shot 10-for-20 from 3-point range in the two games against the Lakers, so expect him to remain aggressive but don’t be surprised if he’s the x-factor.
Russell Westbrook comes off his highest-scoring game since transitioning to a full-time bench role, finishing with 23 points on a season-best 10-for-16 shooting and adding nine boards and six assists. He had just seven points in the Jan. 7 matchup against the Lakers and a season-best 24 in the first meeting, so how he fares here will also play a large role.
The Clippers are utilizing Mason Plumlee and Daniel Theis to cover Zubac’s absence, so they’re rightfully favored despite not having their big man in place. Following this duel with L.A., they’ll leave town for a season-long seven games on their version of the Grammy trip, playing exclusively Eastern Conference teams and won’t be back in town until Feb. 7. They’re 18-4 in home games, the best mark in the West and third-best behind only Boston and Milwaukee.
Since December began, the Clippers lead the NBA in field goal percentage (51.3), 3-point percentage (42.3) and field goal percentage (84.2).
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Lakers vs. Clippers player prop picks
Davis is most likely to pick up the production left by James in the rebounding department. The figure at BetMGM has been set at , and in the three games where he was in the mix helping to replace him, Davis had 13, eight and 15 boards. He also scored 30, 31 and 15 points in LeBron-less games, but the fact the Clips could blitz him with double-teams all night makes riding the high side on Davis’ rebounds more attractive that his points total ().
Russell hitting more than 2.5 3-pointers () is also enticing given his current hot run. He’s going to be asked to be more aggressive and handle the ball more and has hit at least three 3-pointers in six of eight games this month, attempting 7.9 per game.
On the Clippers’ end, fading Harden’s rebound figure () is a solid wager at even money. Even when Zubac was initially sidelined, Harden had just one rebound in consecutive games and five in each of the last two contests. Harden was held to four boards in the Jan. 7 loss to the Lakers and has averaged that figure over the last 11 games, reaching more than five only once.
Lakers vs. Clippers ATS pick
James’ absence takes a lot of the allure off this “Battle for LA,” but the fact both teams badly want to beat one another shouldn’t affect the playoff intensity. Both Tyronn Lue and Darvin Ham are defense-first guys, and removing the best 39-year-old on the planet from the equation should impact the Lakers’ efficiency since it takes a great pick-and-roll player out of the mix.
Unless George and Russell have extremely hot shooting games, this game is likely to stay UNDER the posted total either because it winds up a blowout or the Lakers being able to lock in and make everything difficult on the Clippers to hang around and potentially steal this late.
There were only 209 points scored in the Jan. 7 meeting and I don’t see these teams combining for 230-plus in what should be an intense affair.
Pick: UNDER
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