Article courtesy OddsShark (@OddsShark)
The Los Angeles Lakers are 2-1 straight up and against the spread in their last three games against the Houston Rockets. The Lakers take on the Rockets in the final regular season meeting between the two teams on Thursday night.
Los Angeles opened as a two-point favorite on the NBA odds in Orlando at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. Since going 4-0 SU and ATS in their previous four games, the Lakers are just 2-3 SU and 1-4 ATS over their last five games.
Lakers vs Rockets | OddsShark Matchup Report
The Lakers looked like a team that didn’t have anything to play for in Wednesday’s 105-86 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Anthony Davis and LeBron James combined for just 28 points and a 10-for-30 shooting night from the floor.
As a team, the Lakers hit only five 3-pointers on 37 attempts, with James and Davis missing all eight of their combined attempts. On the bright side, the whole team got plenty of rest with no player going over 30 minutes in the loss.
In their last nine games against the Rockets, the Lakers are 6-3 ATS per the OddsShark NBA Database.
Houston suffered its first loss since returning to action on Tuesday, falling 110-102 against the Portland Trail Blazers. The Rockets were 1-4 SU and 0-5 ATS in their last five games before the league’s regular season was postponed, but they returned to the court with a bang picking up a 152-149 win over the Dallas Mavericks and a 120-116 win as five-point underdogs against the Milwaukee Bucks. Russell Westbrook is questionable for Thursday’s game with a bruised quad.
The OVER is 5-0 at sports betting sites in the last five games between the Rockets and the Lakers. Westbrook’s status should have an effect on the posted total for this contest.
The Lakers can be forgiven for their underwhelming effort against the Thunder as it came right after the team had clinched the top spot in the Western Conference with a win over the Utah Jazz.
The main goal of the last four regular season games is to stay healthy, but Los Angeles isn’t likely to completely mail it in down the stretch as the team wants to keep shaking off the rust from the long layoff.
Check out OddsShark on Twitter and Instagram or head to YouTube for analysis on this week’s top games. As well, the OddsShark Computer serves up daily NBA picks for bettors.
