L.A. Lakers at Indiana
Time: 6 PM CST (NBA TV)
Spread: LAL -4
Total: 211
Odds c/o 5dimes
The Los Angeles Lakers have won its last seven games as it travels to face the Indiana Pacers Tuesday night at 6 PM (CST) on NBA TV. The Lakers are 4-point favorites over Indy, with the betting total set at 211 points.
LAL
The Los Angeles Lakers are just starting to heat up at 42-3. It has won 17 of its last 18 overall and is currently seated atop the Western Conference. It appears the gamble to wager so much young talent to obtain Anthony Davis has paid off thus far. Davis leads the team in scoring, providing a powerful punch that LeBron James has done little more than feast from.
The Lakers rank No. 8 in the Association in scoring at 113.7 points per game while possessing a defense that limits teams to just 104.2 (+9.5 point differential). The Lakers also rank No. 5 in the league in assists per game as a team, tallying an impressive 26.4 per game.
James, of course, ranks highest in the assist category, even with the dime-dropping Rajon Rondo coming in to play alongside him. James is averaging 10.8 assists per game, to go with his 25.9 points, seven rebounds and 1.8 blocks/steals per game. Davis is leading the way with 27.4 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 3.3 assists while coming up with 1.5 steals and 2.6 blocks per contest.
The missing thing, if anything, has been the Kyle Kuzma that Los Angeles is used to seeing. Kuzma has played 20 games this season since returning from injury, but he has only started one of those. He averages just 23.1 minutes per game, and his shooting percentages are mediocre at 43 percent field goals and 36 percent triples. Kuzma averages the third-most of any Laker at 11.1 per game, but he really should be over at least 15 points per game. Avery Bradley is the No. 4 scorer at just nine points per game, though Bradley is known to be a defensive pest and that is his primary focus while on the court.
Kuzma, meanwhile, is known to be a shooter but not really excelling in that lone aspect of his offense. Rondo, as mentioned, comes off the bench to play 21 minutes a game, picking up nearly six assists in those limited minutes. The biggest pleasant surprise has undoubtedly been Dwight Howard. While his numbers are far from eye-popping, he has embraced the role of a defensive-minded presence whose job is to protect the rim and grab boards. Howard has averaged just under 20 minutes a game, providing just under seven points, seven rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. He has rotated well on defense, communicated, and been something of a second-unit leader. The Lakers are pleased with their low-risk investment in Howard, which drew more than its fair share of criticism even though the Lakers were not contractually bound to the former three-time Defensive Player of the Year.
To be sure, he is not the “same guy” that averaged over 21 points per game for the Orlando Magic. That All-Star form is firmly in the past, but Howard’s defensive energy is partly responsible for the Lakers’ overall turnaround as a team on the defensive end. Davis is, naturally, an even bigger part of this picture, but the Lakers were expected to be a slow team on defense, and that has been nowhere close to true, even with Davis often playing the 4-spot. In fact, so many things have fallen into place that other than getting better play out of its No. 3 scorer in Kuzma, it is hard to find any other areas of overt weakness in the Lakers approach thus far in 2019-20.
IND
The Indiana Pacers are 18-9 thus far this season, which comes as something of a surprise considering it has been without its superstar Victor Oladipo. Indiana has won its last three, wins over the Boston Celtics, Atlanta Hawks, and Charlotte Hornets. The Pacers are getting it done on the defensive end with the 6th-most stingy defense, allowing just 104.3 points per game. Indy does not light it up itself, averaging just 109.3 per game, but the strength of the defense is enough: Indiana’s point differential is positive-5.
Without Oladipo available, it has only made the signing of Malcolm Brogdon appear more genius. The one-time Milwaukee Buck and former Rookie of the Year is averaging 19 points and 7.7 assists per game while continuing to play his stellar defense. TJ Warren has molded well with the Pacers and averages an almost-quiet 17.8 points per game. Another guy who has made a leap is Domantas Sabonis. The son of legendary Arvydas, Domantas has averages of 17.7 points, 13.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.3 steal/blocks per game.
Because Indy has three players who have all broken out in a major way, it has done far more than “tread water” until Oladipo returns, and once Vic is back in the fold this team could be an elite contender, even.
