Los Angeles Lakers vs. Philadelphia 76ers Pick

Los Angeles Lakers (28 – 27 SU, 24-29-2 ATS) vs. Philadelphia 76ers (35-20 SU, 26-29 ATS)
When: Sunday, February 10th, 2019 – 3:30 PM ET
Where: Wells Fargo Arena – Philadelphia, PA
TV: ABC
By: Keith Franks, NBA Handicapper, Predictem.com

Point Spread: LAL +7 / PHI -7 (5dimes)
Total: 234
Power Rankings: Philadelphia -13

Takeaways from Los Angeles and Philadelphia’s Most Recent Games

The Lakers enter off a thrilling 129-128 upset of the Boston Celtics on the road on Thursday. Despite closing as a nine-point underdog, LeBron James’s triple-double powered the Lakers to snap a two-game losing streak and defeat their historic rivals.

The 76ers step into this contest on the heels of an impressive 117-110 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Friday. The Sixers closed as a five-point favorite and managed to foster a cover in their victory to snap both a two-game skid against the spread and a two-game losing streak.

How the Public is Betting the Los Angeles and Philadelphia Game

54% of the consensus presently fancy the Lakers here with the points. As a result of this lean, we have seen the market fall by a point with Philadelphia spotting one less point to the Lakers compared to the opening number of the Sixers at -8.

The Historicals

These two teams last met on January 29th in Los Angeles with the Sixers defeating the Lakers 121-105 to produce an easy cover as a 7.5-point favorite. In the aforementioned contest, Philly led by as much as 24 points but it is worth noting that the Lakers did not have LeBron James available.

Injury Concerns

Los Angeles will be without Point Guard Lonzo Ball who has been with diagnosed with a Grade Three Left Ankle Sprain. Philadelphia Center Joel Embiid is also listed as questionable due to an illness.

Rest Advantages and Concerns

The Sixers are presently in the middle of a four-game home-stand until they head to the Big Apple on Wednesday to round off their itinerary before the All-Star break. Between the two teams, the Lakers have had an extra day of rest to prepare. The Lakers have one more game to play in Atlanta on Tuesday to finish off a six-game road trip before their All-Star hiatus begins.

Can Los Angeles Bench Be The X-Factor?

There is one distinctive edge that the Lakers own besides having the services of the game’s generational athlete at their disposal: their bench play. The Lakers boast a 3.3-point edge when comparing the two teams’ bench play as the Lakers generate 36.3 bench points per game compared to Philly’s 33 bench points per outing. Utilizing this advantage will be essential with respect to home court advantage resting with the Sixers and the fact that the Lakers are the worst free-throw shooting team in the league whether it be opponents shooting against them from the charity stripe (78.5%) or their own initiatives from the free-throw line (68.6%).

Can Philadelphia’s Home Cooking Curate Another Impressive Win?

The Sixers illustrated why they are a feared team on their own court when they staged an impressive win over one of the West’s best teams two days ago. The victory against Denver improved Philadelphia’s home record to a savory 22-6 SU this season. Despite the impressive victory on the road in Beantown, the Lakers still play losing basketball on the road this season as they are 12-15 SU outside of Los Angeles. This will be a key intangible that Philadelphia will look to hone against the Lakers. Moreover, Philadelphia has an edge in defensive rebounding as they give up a fourth-ranked 43.2 rebounds against compared to Los Angeles’ 27th-ranked 46.9 boards against per outing.

Betting Trends

With Philadelphia’s win and cover against the Lakers on January 29th, the Sixers have now improved to 3-1 ATS against the Lakers while also winning three of their last four overall against Los Angeles. In addition, the Under is also 8-3-1 ATS in the previous 12 contests between both parties.

Keith’s Pick to Cover the Spread: Los Angeles +7

As it was written the last time these two teams met, LeBron James was not on the court. It would be overstated to say that his presence shifts the dynamics of this game but nonetheless it is the prevailing reason to back the Lakers here. The King played his entire career in the Eastern Conference and turned it into this personal playground as teams he were a part of made it to the NBA Finals on eight consecutive occasions. Los Angeles’ win over Boston in the notorious TD Garden was an opportunity for LBJ to show the East that he is the still the one to beat and he will see this contest as another chance to place another feather in his cap and reinforce that superlative. After acquiring Forward Tobias Harris and Guard Jimmy Butler earlier this season, the Sixers are garnered by some to be a super-team with home-grown talents Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons rounding off their “big four”. King James has a penchant for taking it to teams of this degree, look no further than him knocking off the Raptors and Celtics last year in the Playoffs and historical anecdotes of him defeating the 73-9 Warriors and the Spurs Dynasty in its peak. We have to like his chances along with Los Angeles’ prospects to make another statement here in another fabled and hostile environment.