Golden State Warriors vs Los Angeles Lakers Prediction & Betting Tips - NBA

Prediction published on 11/02/2022, 20:34  by Joseph King | Modified on 12/02/2022 at 02:34 in NBA Predictions

The Lakers have slipped 4 games below .500 and sit in the ninth seed with a record of 26-30. The trade deadline came and went and there were no moves made by the front office to change things up in a system that is clearly not working at the moment. A toxic atmosphere lingers around the team at the moment with the uncomfortable Russell Westbrook dilemma seemingly affecting the chemistry of the entire team. The Lakers have a tough task in front of them with the Golden State Warriors who hold the second best record in the league at 41-15. The Warriors have now lost two straight after ripping off nine straight victories and are still without key defensive piece Draymond Green. They are coming off a surprise 116-114 home loss to the New York Knicks and will be looking to bounce back to close the gap with the first place Suns, who currently hold a 4.5 game lead.

One area where the Lakers must focus on if they want to pull out the upset win in this game is the Warriors' vulnerability to teams with size and strength. Even though the Dubs were able to string together a very impressive nine games winning streak without their defensive quarterback in Draymond Green, his absence is painfully apparent when they come against teams who look to bully them inside. Hassan Whiteside was an absolute menace in the loss to the Jazz with 17 rebounds and seven blocks and Golden State then struggled in the following game in their loss to the Knicks, whose overall length gave them problems all night. This is a golden opportunity for Anthony Davis on the Lakers to make a statement with a classic performance. The eight time all star and four time all pro has looked pretty good since returning from injury - averaging 24.1 points per game and 10.5 rebounds in 8 games.