LA Lakers vs Washington Wizards Prediction: No AD for LA, Wizards are just falling

NBA is on and what a beautiful season we have had. As we move towards the midseason, there are a lot of permutations and combinations that are going to take place to determine both the Play-in and Playoffs teams. There are teams that have fallen a lot below the 50% win record and two of those teams are the LA Lakers and the Washington Wizards which will meet here.

LA Lakers

The Lakers come into this game after defeating the Nuggets 126:108 as LeBron James rolled in 30 points while Russell Westbrook had a triple-double. They have won two of their last three games and have won 12 and lost 16 games. The Lakers’ last win was more bitter than sweet in retrospect as Anthony Davis has been ruled out for a month or so. Anthony Davis has been the best player for the team on both ends so that is a huge void. One positive is that Russell Westbrook was on fire on both ends in the last game and if he continues to play like that, the Lakers can make up for Davis’ loss.

The trouble for the Lakers with or without Davis has been their long-range shooting and they are the worst three-point scoring squad in the league. The organization is rumored to have stopped engaging in trades regarding Russell Westbrook so it means that the Lakers may have to stake their future draft picks to land some type of sharpshooter who can also be an effective defender. The Davis’ injury is bad news for the Lakers also because they lack a strong big and that means that the management will have their work cut out once again.

Washington Wizards

The Wizards enter the scene after losing 93:102 against the Clippers despite a 19 points outing by Kristaps Porzingis. This loss marked the ninth one in a row for Washington which has now hit a new low after a disappointing 2021-22 season. They have had a continuous flow of great individual performances, they have three players averaging 20+ points per game after all, but as a team, their offense and defense both have hit new lows. It seems like the Wizards may turn to the long-term picture soon and look for draft picks.

And they have some strange candidates. Perhaps retaining the frontline of Kyle Kuzma and Kristaps Porzingis can help in the long run but what about the other Forward, off-guard, and one-guard positions? Is Bradley Beal staying for a long time? He continues to feature for losing teams and I don’t even know if the Wizards’ management can’t be faulted for that, they did bring in Kuzma and Porzingis, both of whom fit well in the new-era basketball. Will Beal remain with the team just like Lillard has stuck with Portland? That is the main question at this point.

Injuries

• Lakers: OUT: Anthony Davis, Cole Swider, Wenyen Gabriel, Juan Toscano-Anderson;
• Wizards: Game-Time Decisions: Rui Hachimura, Bradley Beal.

Player Props Predictions

• Lakers: Leading Scorer: LeBron James(30-34 Points), Leading Rebounder: LeBron James(10-13 Rebounds), Leading Playmaker:Russell Westbrook(11-13 Assists);
• Wizards: Leading Scorer(Kristaps Porzingis(23-26 Points), Leading RebounderKristaps Porzingis(9-12 Rebounds), Leading Playmaker(Monte Morris:5-7 Assists).

Expert Betting Tips

The Lakers are going to immensely miss the services of Anthony Davis, it just can’t be emphasized enough. Without him, Westbrook will need to further elevate his game while role players like Troy Brown Jr. and Austin Reaves will have to help out on the rebounding end. The Wizards are in shambles but this is the NBA, you never know when a squad picks itself up. However, I believe that the Lakers are going to fend off the Wizards here and Westbrook will have another big night. I predict a scoreline of 120:111 in favor of the Lakers.