NBA Preview, Odds, And Prediction: Los Angeles Lakers vs Portland Trail Blazers

It will be an emotional night inside the Staples Center on Friday as the Los Angeles Lakers play for the first time since the Kobe Bryant tragedy. The team is scheduled to face the Portland Trail Blazers in what promises to be a game filled with poignant tributes to the basketball icon who served the franchise for 20 years.

“We want to represent what Kobe was about more than anything,” Lakers head coach Frank Vogel said. The coach admittedly said that the tragic event has brought his team to a closer bond. And now that they are ready to play basketball again, the team is more inspired to take their game a notch higher – more so that their fans demand them to go all the way and win the chip for Bryant.

Lakers

Prior to the unfortunate incident, LeBron James coincidentally surpassed Bryant at third place in the All-Time Scoring list. That night, though, the Lakers lost to the Sixers in Philly, 108-91. James finished with 29 points while Anthony Davis top-scored the team with 31. It was the supporting cast that was sorely missed after accounting for only 31 points in total that led to the loss.

The defeat gave the Lakers just their 10^th setback of the season after 46 games. They are still the best team in the West while being three and a half games above second-placed Los Angeles Clippers.

Trail Blazers

Two words: Damian Lillard. The Trail Blazers star point guard has been on an absolute tear as of late. He has been averaging a jaw-dropping 48.5 points per night over his last four games and recorded his first career triple-double in the win against the Rockets on Wednesday after finishing with 36 points, 11 assists and 10 boards.

Lillard has also been silently seizing milestones during this scorching stretch. By making six triples on Wednesday, his total three-pointers made in his last four games has now reached 33 – the first of the same record since Stephen Curry did it in February 2016.

Portland, however, will miss Carmelo Anthony in this game after the veteran asked for a leave due to personal reasons.

Odds and Trends

The Lakers are pegged to win convincingly by the sportsbooks, offering them at -12.5 spread. The total line is at O/U 230.5

The Lakers are 11-3-1 ATS in their last 15 home games vs. a team with a road winning % of less than .400 and 3-1-1 in their last 5 Friday games.

The Trail Blazers are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 Friday games and 5-12-2 in their last 19 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.

Over is 13-4 in Lakers' last 17 vs. a team with a losing straight up record and 6-0 in Trail Blazers' last 6 vs. a team with a winning straight up record.

Under is 37-15 in Lakers' last 52 home games vs. a team with a losing road record and 10-4 in Trail Blazers' last 14 road games.

Prediction

Straight-up: Lakers

ATS: Blazers

Total: Under