Are The Lakers Overrated? Warriors-Lakers Play-In Tournament Betting Preview

The Golden State Warriors will take the court at Staples Center to face the Los Angeles Lakers. The loser between the battle of the no. 8 and no. 7 seeds will have to play the winner of the Grizzlies-Spurs bout for a chance at the playoffs. The winner secures their spot as the seventh seed en route to their title dreams.

The Breakdown For The Warriors: After a dismal 15-50 season last year, the Warriors have bounced back big fueled by MVP candidate Steph Curry. He won the scoring title this season, averaging an incredible 32 points per game alongside 5.8 assists and 5.5 rebounds. Jordan Poole has come on strong in recent weeks, scoring 16.5 points per game in his last 10 games as the Warriors’ sixth man. The Warriors rank in the top 10 in both opponent’s field goal and three-point field goal percentage. The Warriors will be missing two new players to their squad: second-overall pick in this year’s draft, James Wiseman, and wing Kelly Oubre Jr.

The under was 42-30 this season in Warriors’ games.

The Breakdown For The Lakers: As reigning NBA champions, no one saw any possibility of the Lakers missing the playoffs. They've struggled with injuries this season as their All-NBA tandem of LeBron James and Anthony Davis missed large stretches of the season. Despite being new additions to the team, all of Dennis Schroder, Andre Drummond and Montrezl Harrell have made great contributions to the team as they all average over 13.4 points per game. The Lakers allow only 106.8 points per game to opposing teams, good for second-best in the NBA. The Lakers are fully healthy for Wednesday’s bout.

The Lakers are 21-15 ATS at home games this season.

Storyline To Watch: After just coming back from an injury, is LeBron fully healthy and able to play clutch minutes if the game is close?

Matchup To Watch: The matchup to watch is Steph Curry and LeBron James. The best players on both teams, will Curry actually manage to beat the best player in the world and can LeBron stop the person he claims should be MVP?