Los Angeles Lakers vs Golden State Warriors Game 2 Preview

The Los Angeles Lakers narrowly edged the Golden State Warriors in the series opener Tuesday evening 117-112. As far as the Lakers vs Warriors odds were concerned, the Lakers cashed +148 outright tickets on top of the 4.5 points they were getting on the spread. All eyes will surely be on Golden State in Game 2 as they look to avoid going down 0-2 Thursday night before heading to Los Angeles for the next two games.

Dubs Still Favored

Despite the loss in the series opener, Golden State is still favored among the Lakers vs Warriors odds. The Warriors are favored by one more point than they were going into Game 1. This isn’t new territory for either team. The Warriors fell behind 2-0 to the Sacramento Kings in Round 1 before coming back to win the series in seven.

As for the Lakers, we saw them jump out to a 1-0 series lead in Round 1 against the Memphis Grizzlies. So why the change to the spread? The fact is, the Lakers took home-court advantage away from the team that has depended on that this season. The Lakers’ ability to take away the Grizzlies’ home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs proves they are a formidable team, but they will face a much tougher challenge in the upcoming Lakers vs Warriors matchup.

In the regular season NBA standings, the Warriors had one of the best home records in the NBA at 33-8, behind only the Denver Nuggets and the Grizzlies. On the other side, the Warriors didn’t fare so well. They finished with an 11-30 record away from Chase Arena this season, the worst road record of any team that made the playoffs.

Regarding the Lakers vs Warriors odds, the line opened with the Warriors favored by 4.5 but quickly moved to 5.5 and -215 on the moneyline, with the Lakers at +190. The total is 227.5. The cover for the Lakers was their fourth in a row over the Warriors, as well as the fourth-consecutive outright win over the team. The over is 2-3 over the last five games.

It is worth noting that home teams down 0-1 in these playoffs have gone 5-0 outright in Game 2 with an average margin of victory of almost 13 points.

Next Move for the King?

It will be interesting to see how the Lakers come out to start Game 2. One noteworthy thing from Game 1 was the superstars’ minutes for both teams. Anthony Davis played 43 minutes, while LeBron James played 40. On the other side, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson each played 37 minutes, while Draymond Green played 33 and Andrew Wiggins played 30.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Lakers call off the dogs if things don’t go their way early in Game 2. If there’s an opportunity for them to step on the Warriors’ neck and take the 2-0 lead going home, expect them to do so. However, going by the blueprint they used to beat the Grizzlies, they could lose this game and still be in good shape.

Worried Warriors?

Following Game 1, the Lakers are now -175 to win the series, with the Warriors at +145 on the buyback. This position is familiar to Golden State. They’ve fallen behind in each of the last two playoff series, including last season’s NBA Finals, where they dropped Game 1 before winning the series 4-2. The odds for that exact scenario to happen in this round would be +700 for the series’ exact score and +330 if they were to win in seven games.

The Warriors shot well from deep in Game 1, as Klay Thompson, Jordan Poole and Curry each knocked down six triples. Unfortunately, they needed one more to send the game into OT.

With 17 seconds left in Game 1 and trailing, Curry secured a defensive rebound with a chance to tie with a three. Austin Reaves and Dennis Schroeder double-teamed Curry after he crossed half-court to force the ball out of his hands to Draymond Green, who swung it to Poole.

With 10 seconds remaining, Poole put up a three-point attempt seemingly from Oakland but came up short. The Lakers secured the rebound, and with that, the game—just the latest in the Poole vs. the Warriors saga.

According to the NBA playoffs schedule, the two teams will meet for Game 3 Saturday evening in Los Angeles.

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