The NBA on Christmas Day sees two west Coast rivals go head-to-head when the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors meet at the Chase Center.
The two teams are both currently inside the top-eight in the Western Conference, as they look to add to the 27 NBA titles they have won between them.
The Lakers are enjoying a good run to get them back into the playoff picture, having lost five in a row at the end of November.
Meanwhile, Golden State have suffered from inconsistency this term and they know they will need to improve their form if they are to become title challengers.
The Lakers have won their last two on the road, but they were both against the Sacramento Kings, who don’t look good enough to make the playoffs.
This is a much tougher assignment for JJ Redick’s team and the Lakers’ 7-9 record on the road suggests Golden State are the team to beat here.
Steve Kerr’s men will have back-to-back home games over Christmas and that could help their cause when it comes to putting one over on their near rivals.
As is often the case, they will rely on a big game from Steph Curry, who is the only Golden State player inside the top-50 points scorers in the league to date.
The four-time NBA champion has averaged 22.4 points per game and scored 31 in the recent 10-point victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Warriors have averaged 113.1 per game, in contrast to 111.1 for the Lakers – who are ranked 20th in the league’s points-scoring stats.
This is the first time these two teams have met this term, although they did meet in a preseason game at the Chase Center back in October.
On that occasion, Golden State claimed an emphatic 132-74 success and it’s worth noting that the Warriors won three of the four games between the two sides last season.
Both LeBron James and Anthony Davis have had their fitness concerns so far this season, but the pair are averaging over 22.5 points per game.
King James was the Lakers top scorer in three of their four meetings with the Warriors last season, firing 40 in the 128-121 defeat back in March.
LeBron averaged 36.3 across those three games and Golden State will do all they can to make sure the 39-year-old doesn’t take this match-up away from them.
It might make more sense to be on Anthony Davis in the points scoring market, with the center leading the Lakers’ roster in points scored.
The nine-time NBA All Star has averaged 30.4 points in his last five appearances and will need to have a big game if Los Angeles are to put one over their near rivals.
The last three regular season meetings between the sides have seen 238-249-254 total points and it looks like being a similar story on Wednesday.
Neither of the two franchises have players inside the top-six points scorers in the league, while both teams are outside the top-10 in Field Goal Percentage.
The Warriors and the Lakers though have been able to spread the points between their roster and that should stand them in good stead if they have injuries to deal with down the line.
Losing Klay Thompson to the Dallas Mavericks in the offseason always looked like having a big impact on Golden State’s playoff hopes.
The likes of Trayce Jackson-Davis and Jonathan Kuminga have chipped in with some big performances to get them over the line, but they still look overly reliant on Curry.
Read more betting picks and predictions for the NBA on site.
Los Angeles Lakers | +135 ML |
Golden State Warriors | -160 ML |
Spread | GS Warriors -3.5 |
Total Points | O/U 225 |
Anthony Davis | O/U 25.5 |
LeBron James | O/U 22.5 |
Austin Reaves | O/U 17.5 |
Stephen Curry | O/U 24.5 |
Andrew Wiggins | O/U 16.5 |
Jonathan Kuminga | O/U 15.5 |