Game Time: 10:00 PM ET, Thursday, March 3rd, 2022 

Venue:  Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California

Where to Watch:  TNT

DraftKings:  Spread:  Clippers -2.5

Fanduel:  Spread:  Clippers -2.5

VegasInsider NL 

Lakers: 27-34, 9th place Western Conference

Clippers: 33-31, 8th place Western Conference

A Western Conference battle of roommates.  The teams occupying Crypto.com arena have a long history.  The Lakers have owned the city and the Clippers have been an afterthought.  The Lakers had $1000 courtside seats before anyone else in the league passed the $500 dollar mark back in the early 90’s.  The Clippers gave away tickets at a shopping mall in Cerritos with the sales pitch “come see the visitors”.  The last decade has been different.  Over the last decade the Clippers have been the better team.  Simple as that.  The Clippers win more and get more playoff runs… but then the Lakers snuck in a banner when Lebron came to LA.  The Clippers have never even made it to a Finals.  The battle for the soul of Los Angeles was won back in the day.  This is a Laker town and always will be.  So while the Clippers are the better team (even with their stars out for ever with injury)... the Lakers have the town.  In this one the Clippers are the home team… and just like every Clipper home game against the Lakers since the teams started sharing a venue… the crowd will be Lakers fans.   There is a very big difference now though.  Jerry Buss the longtime Lakers owner is gone… has been gone awhile… and his kids couldn’t run a taco stand let alone an NBA franchise.  The Clippers on the4 other hand are now owned by a legitimate lover of basketball and winning and one of the world’s absolute richest men.  A flip in perspective is needed from fans in Los Angeles.  The Kids who own the Lakers can’t do anything on their own… the Clippers owner can move mountains.  The next decade should see a Clipper dominance as has the last ten years.

The Los Angeles Lakers have won just two of their last ten games… they are 5-4-1 ATS during that stretch.  Leading scorer and the GOAT of all of NBA history LeBron James has had some frustrating post-game interviews.  No LeBron can not control Anthony Davis health… and no LeBron wasn’t aware that Russell Westbrook would be unable to alter his game to fit the team concept.  And absolutely no one connected to the Lakers knew what to do once the cupboard was empty of tradable assets and the team wasn’t winning.  There is a scenario where the Lakers get a “play-in” game while Anthony Davis is healthy and makes a run all the way through to the Finals… I wouldn’t bet on it.  The two stand out players on the roster after LeBron are Sg Austin Reeves who is an undrafted rookie and SF Stanley Johnson who was plucked off the unemployment line.  The only way for the Lakers to get out of the mess they are in will be to wait for Anthony davis to be healthy enough to showcase him… Then trade him to Orlando or OKC… two teams that can give back picks with young players… then they simply have to tell Lebron “please make this work… and we will draft or trade for your son.”  The lakers are a deadly bet because we simply don’t know who will show up or what the outcome will be.

The Los Angeles Clippers have won 4-straight games!  During that stretch they took down the Lakers! They have 6 wins over their last ten games.  They also might hold a World Record in that the 3 guys sitting on the bench in street clothes represent just above 100 million dollars on the salary cap!  SF Paul George is out, SG Kawhi Leonard, and new swingman SF/SG Norman Powell is out!  The team has won 4 in a row as 60 points and 100 million dollars languish on the injury list.  They have done it because of PG Reggie Jackson.  Reggie is a two-way player that doesn’t quit… ever!  He scores when the team needs it and he gets stops when they need it.  He hits the lane for floaters and drains threes… he has help form Center Ivica Zubac who was gifted to the Clippers by the bad lakers management 4 seasons ago… everyone ini the Clippers front office LAUGHED when the Lakers were on the phone proposing a trade of their Zubac for PF Mike Muscala?!! But the Lakers brain trust IS THAT BAD.  Also stepping up is SG Luke Kennard who is a 4th quarter flame thrower from beyond the arc.  Outside of that the Clippers get by with team play and hope.  8th place is not a lot to brag about… until you pay the injury list.  

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The Lakers are 27-34 on the season, but 26-34-1 ATS. They have logged 32 Overs, 28 Unders, and 1 Push.  They are 9-14 in road games… but this is a road game in their home gym, home locker room, sleeping in their own beds and seeing some of the same faces in the stands.

The Clippers are 33-31 on the season, but 32-32 ATS.  They have notched 30 overs, 33 Unders, and 1 Push.  They are 18-13 in home games.

The Lakers have LeBron.  They are 13th in scoring with 110.4 ppg, 15th in rebounds with 44.6 per game, and 24th in AST/TO ratio with 1.6.  On defense they are clowns with a 24th ranking while allowing 112.4 ppg from opponents.

The Clippers are 23rd in scoring with 106.8 ppg, 19th in rebounds with 44.3 per game, and 22nd in AST/TO ratio with 1.6.  They are 10th on defense (thank you reggie jackson). While allowing 107.3 ppg from opponents.

Our prediction for Thursday, March 3rd is….  Clippers 115 - lakers 101

The Clippers will win again.  The feeling around Laker land is terrible. In ways I have never seen before (3 decades in LA), actual Laker fans are clowning their own team.  They are booing current Lakers who will be in the Hall of Fame soon.  The fans don’t see anyone on this current team asd anything more than mercenaries.  LeBron won’t keep giving full effort to this losing cause.  Bad times are coming until AD gets healthy… and then it will only be a matter of time before he is hurt again.  How long will AD last next time?... a month?.. A couple weeks? Plus Lebron may not play because he has knees.

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The Clippers are 58-43 ATS versus the lakers since 1996
The Clippers are 36 Over and 21 Under when the line is -3 to +3 the last 3 seasons.
The Lakers are 76 Over and 48 Under off a cover where the Lakers lost straight up since 1996.

Lakers:  SGH Talen Horton Tucker (ankle) Prob ** SG LeBron James (knee) Quest ** SG Avery Bradley (knee) Out ** PF Anthony Davis (ankle) Out ** PG Kendrick Nunn (ankle) Out ***   Then also the team recently acquired SF Wenyen Gabriel and PG DJ Augustin who matt not play because they have not practiced with the team yet.

Clippers:  SF Norman Powell (knee) Out ** SF Paul George (knee) Out ** SG Kawhi Leonard (knee) Out

Lakers: PF Stanley Johnson, SF Austin Reeves, C Lebron James, SG Russell Westbrook, PG Malik Monk

Clippers: PF Marcus Morris SR, SF Nicholas Batum, C Ivica Zubac, PG Reggie Jackson, SG Terance Mann

Lakers

Points: LeBron James 28.9

Assists: Russell Westbrook 7.3

Rebounds: Anthony Davis 9.7

Steals: LeBron James 1.6

Blocks: Anthony Davis 2.3

Clippers

Points: Paul George 24.7

Assists: Paul George 5.5

Rebounds: Ivica Zubac 8.2

Steals: Paul George 2.0

Blocks: Robert Convington 1.4

Lakers:  Frank “dead man walking” Vogel

Clippers:  Tye Lue