Warriors vs Lakers Betting Odds: LA Hopes to Close Out Series

Warriors Ready to Defend Dynasty

Lakers Hope to Put On A Show

The LA Lakers will look to lean on their home crowd in Game 6 as they try to stave off a desperate Warriors team hoping to force a Game 7 back home. Let’s dive into the Warriors vs Lakers Betting Odds to see what the markets are projecting in this elimination game.

The Warriors were at their best defensively in Game 5 as they held the Lakers to 1.05 points per possession and a 51.2% Effective Field Goal average. LA’s usual transition offense was halted in impressive fashion as they were -0.8 points per 100 possessions worse when playing in transition as opposed to half court sets – a huge flip from what has been the case for the Lakers these playoffs.

Meanwhile, LA’s ability to dominate the inside was also missing as they allowed the Warriors to shoot 90% at the rim (99th percentile) while only generating 10 Field Goal Attempts at the rim themselves. The Lakers also finished -10 in rebounding and didn’t own a free throw advantage for the first time this series.

The Lakers are still undefeated at home in these playoffs and they’ve opened as XX point favorites. The total for the game is set at XXX points.

LA Needs AD

Anthony Davis is no stranger to being on the NBA injury report and his status is a huge factor heading into Game 6 after he left the game early in Golden State and was wheelchaired out of the arena.

Davis caught a forearm to the face when contesting a rebound with Kevon Looney and looked dazed as he made his way to the bench following a timeout. While his offensive contributions have been hot-and-cold this series there’s no denying that his impact on the defensive end is simply irreplaceable.

So far these playoffs the Lakers are -17.8 points per 100 possessions worse when Davis is off the floor and their most used lineup without him is a woeful -22.8 points per 100 possessions.

After the game, coach Darvin Ham said Davis was “feeling much better” and it seems he will avoid the NBA’s concussion protocol. If, however, he were forced into protocol he would be unavailable for Game 6 and his status for Game 7 (should it go there) would also be up in the air.

If he plays however they need him to be at his most assertive offensively. The Warriors lack of size is LA’s biggest advantage and controlling tempo and playing through AD is how the Lakers can wrestle back momentum.

If Davis can be his assertive self on offense for the full game it’ll help open up the floor for his teammates around him. Either way, they need Davis to not just be on the floor but to be as dominant as he can be in generating offense for this team.

Warriors Still Have Life

If there’s one thing you can be certain of with the Warriors it’s that they have every ounce of belief that they can still win this series.

Their Game 5 win was made more impressive by the fact that Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole still weren’t able to shake off their shooting woes.

At some point there’s belief that Golden State will find its rhythm from beyond the arc and if/when that happens that might be too much offensive firepower for the Lakers to overcome.

Golden State has certainly worked things out as this series has progressed and their pick-and-roll execution to pull Davis away from the paint has opened up the paint for the Warriors to get to the rim without deterrence.

Unless Darvin Ham can find a counter to keep Davis in the paint it feels as though the Warriors are beginning to pick apart a Laker defense that relies on getting stops to initiate their offense.

The Anthony Davis situation makes this very tricky, but siding with the Warriors here makes sense regardless. If he’s available, he might not be fully healthy and with LeBron James again logging close to 40 minutes things are starting to get tight on the Lakers stars.

Keep a close eye on team news in this one.  The Lakers opened as a 2.5-point favorite. It briefly moved to 3.5. There was soon some serious buyback, as the line Thursday morning had moved to 1.5 before settling back at the opening line of 2.5. The total as of Thursday afternoon sits at 222.

That’s all for our Warriors vs Lakers Betting Odds preview. Be sure to check all the NBA tonight games and their analysis right here to help keep you ahead of the markets.

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