The Los Angeles Lakers are heating up as winners of five in a row and nine of their last 10 games heading into the final game of this homestand. The Golden State Warriors were outmatched last time out against Denver, so the odds aren’t great that they will be able to bounce back Monday. Lakers vs. Warriors Betting Odds These are two teams going the opposite way as we get into the meat of the first half of the season. The Los Angeles Lakers have ascended to their likely finishing spot atop the Western Conference and welcome the struggling Golden State Warriors on Monday to Staples Center. While the Lakers are riding a five-game winning streak and have won nine of their last 10, Golden State has dropped two straight as part of an up-and-down start to the season with no streaks greater than two games. If both teams were fully healthy, this might be a fun matchup, but the lack of Klay Thompson puts a damper on this one. Steph Curry can flat out shoot the basketball and he dropped 35 points last time out against Denver last week. However, Golden State still struggled to find scoring around Curry, and I can’t imagine that will be any better against these Lakers. Los Angeles has the second best scoring defense in the league and leads the NBA in defensive efficiency. Meanwhile, Golden State is in the middle of the pack in terms of scoring with Curry’s 28 points per game, so it’s not on there isn’t much more the superstar can do. The Warriors have continued to struggle on the defensive end, especially against big men. Nikola Jokic tore up Golden State’s defense on Thursday and Myles Turner did it two nights prior for the Pacers. When Golden State wins, it’s because it has done a good job defending on the perimeter. That will be an issue against a big, physical Lakers team with Anthony Davis and LeBron James. Los Angeles’ most popular lineup also includes Marc Gasol at center, so that’s three large bodies that the Warriors need to contend with. That lineup of Davis, Gasol, James, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Denis Schroder is outscoring teams by more than 25 points per game, and should have plenty of success against this Warriors squad. There is no messing around on this game at the NBA betting sites in New Jersey. The Lakers might be nine-point favorites, but the NBA odds could easily be into double-digits on this game. The Lakers have won their last four games by at least 17 points with an average margin of victory of 20.25 points. As much as Curry can score the ball and keep Golden State close, the Warriors have no answer right now for the power the Lakers have inside. We’re going to go for the big value at these New Jersey sports betting sites and bet Los Angeles laying 17.5 points at home for +270 odds, though I am tempted to take it to 20.5 points for +390. Perhaps my biggest risk, however, is my NBA predictions on the over/under for this game. Golden State had kept six straight opponents under 110 points prior to allowing 114 against the Nuggets on Thursday. Meanwhile, the Lakers have scored at least 112 points in all five games of this current winning streak while keeping its last four opponents to 102 points or less. As a result, I’m going well under the original over/under of 224.5 and betting under 219.5 points at +146 odds. My Prediction Los Angeles -9
