Sunday night features a battle of East versus West as the Philadelphia 76ers (26-16) take on the Los Angeles Lakers (19-23). The Lakers will host this one at the Crypto.com Arena, with tipoff scheduled for 9:30 pm ET.
Philadelphia will be playing the second leg of a back-to-back Sunday. On Saturday, they defeated the Utah Jazz 118-117. In the road victory, James Harden and Joel Embiid combined for 61 points, 13 rebounds, and 13 assists.
Los Angeles has lost back-to-back games coming into this one, including a 119-115 loss in overtime to the Dallas Mavericks in their last contest. Russell Westbrook had a team-high 28 points in the loss, while LeBron James was one assist shy of a triple-double with 24 points, 16 rebounds, and nine assists.
The 76ers are the favorites in this one despite playing on the road. They are -176 to win, while the Lakers’ moneyline sits at +148. The spread features the Lakers as 4-point underdogs (-108).
76ers Look To Move Above .500 On The Road
At 26-16, the 76ers currently sit in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, five games behind the Boston Celtics. While they have been fantastic at home (17-7), they have struggled a bit more on the road (9-9). On Sunday, they will look to move over .500 on the road as they travel to L.A.
Philadelphia currently ranks 16th in the NBA in scoring, averaging 113.7 points per game. This season, they have been led by Joel Embiid, who is averaging 33.5 points, 9.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.7 blocks per game over 30 games.
James Harden (21.8 points, 11.2 assists, 6.5 rebounds) and Tyrese Maxey (21 points, 4.1 assists, 3 rebounds) have also been big contributors for Philadelphia.
While their offense has been just average, the 76ers have been stellar on the defensive end. They rank third in the league in scoring defense, allowing just 110 points per game to opponents.
Lakers Seem Lost Currently
It has certainly been a rough first half of the season for the Los Angeles Lakers. Through 42 games, they are just 19-23, good enough for 13th in the Western Conference. To this point, they have gone just 10-9 at home, while amassing a miserable 9-14 record on the road.
While there is still a lot of season left, the Lakers need to get things figured out in a hurry. Health has been a struggle as they are without superstar Anthony Davis, but their aging roster has also just not produced on the season.
38-year-old LeBron James continues to lead the offense. He is averaging 29 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 6.8 assists per game over 32 games this season.
With Davis out, Russell Westbrook (27.4 points, 12.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 2.1 blocks) has been the next most productive player for the Lakers this year.
Offensively, the Lakers have been respectable, averaging 116.6 points per game (ninth in the NBA). Unfortunately for the Lakers, their defense falls all the way to 27th in the league, as they are allowing 117.9 points per game to opponents (113.9 at home).
Take The Lakers And The Points
Looking at the trends, the 76ers have won five straight games over the Lakers, and they have gone 4-1 against the spread in that time. Furthermore, they are 14-4 in their last 18 games straight up, although they are just 2-4 against the spread in their last six games overall.
For the Lakers, they have picked it up a bit as of late. They are 5-2 in their last seven games, and they are 8-4 in their last 12 home games. They are also 5-1 against the spread in their last six games against Eastern Conference foes.
On the season, the Lakers have been too inconsistent to take straight up; however, with the 76ers coming off of a grueling game Saturday and the improved play of Los Angeles as of late, there is some value in taking the Lakers on the spread.
Take Los Angeles +4 (-112) Sunday night.
