Golden State Warriors vs Los Angeles Lakers

The LA Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks made a huge unexpected trade that brought Luka Doncic to LA and Anthony Davis to Dallas. The Lakers will have to wait and see how things work out as Doncic and James are both likely out tonight or at best less than 100% as Doncic continues to suffer from a calf injury, and LeBron an ankle injury. That means they are down two future Hall of Fame players tonight, in what looks like a "give away" game. Golden St. has a winning ATS record on the road, and have a great opportunity as they are currently in 11th place in the West, but just a half-game out of eighth and three games out of sixth. Every win matters, and I like Golden St. in this one.

The LA Lakers had a big measuring stick game vs. the Boston Celtics at home their last time out. They came away in blowout fashion 117-96. The Lakers are 24-18 on the season, and this could be a huge letdown spot after playing their best game of the season vs. last year's NBA Champions. Golden St. is just 22-22 on the season and currently not even in the play-in round at #11 in the West. That may sound bad, but the Lakers, at 24-18, only lead them by three games, and a win tonight drops that to two. The Warriors offense has always given LA fits, and Golden St. is averaging just shy of 130ppg in the last five meetings and has won three of the previous four. Make the play on Golden St.

NBA offensive star power is on display in this X-mas matchup. LeBron James leads a Los Angeles offense that is 10th in the league in shooting. The defense, though, is 18th in points given up, 24th in field goal shooting allowed (47.6%), and 19th at defending beyond the arc (36.5%). The Lakers come off a 117-114 loss at home to Detroit despite shooting 54.1% and LeBron having a triple-double. The defense allowed 51.1% shooting as the game sailed OVER the total. The Lakers are also on a 9-16 ATS run. Golden State is 11th from 3-point land (37.1) as a team and fifth in assists. Steph Curry is primed to bounce back after a bad shooting night (2-of-13) against Indiana. The Warriors bench had an impressive 53 points. These teams met four times last season with an average of 257.5 points scored (3-1 OVER) in finals of 128-110, 145-144, 128-121, and 134-120. Play Golden State to cover, and play this game to go OVER the total.