Game Time: 10:30 PM ET, Wednesday, February 2nd, 2022 

Venue:  Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California

Where to Watch:  NBA League Pass

DraftKings:  Spread: NL

BetMGM:  Spread:  NL

VegasInsider:  Spread: Lakers -3; O/U 222

WynnBet: Spread:  Lakers -3; O/U 222

Lakers: 24-27, 9th place Western Conference

Trail Blazers: 21-30, 10th place Western Conference

A Western Conference matchup of mediocre teams with real consequences for the loser. The Lakers are loaded with Hall of Famers.  There is no other way to say it… They can put a starting five on the court of nothing but future Hall of Famers.  LeBron James , Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony, Anthony Davis, Dwight Howard.  The problem with putting that starting lineup on the court is there is simply not enough Ben-Gay in Los Angeles to smooth over the results.  This team needs to mix in Avery Bradley and Stanley Johnson and Malik Monk… who?... exactly.  Don’t get it wrong… LeBron James is still one of the best in the league!  The rest have had better days… in years gone by.  But what about Anthony Davis?  Anthony Davis is great when healthy… history tells us he is never healthy long enough for it to matter.  There is a reason that the best Laker games of the season have featured undrafted free agent Austin Reeves going off!  It’s because they have an empty, expensive roster with no way to improve.  Stop telling me about SG/SF Talen Horton-Tucker until he shows it in someway.  The Blazers are terrible this year.  Not because Damian Lilliard is injured… not because CJ McCollum missed time and is barely getting started in his comeback… but because those two studs are it.  The roster in Portland is more empty than the Lakers roster, but they don’t have nearly as many Hall of Famers.  The Blazers have long been rumored to be cursed because of the incredible amount of injuries that cut short the careers of potential stars… but that’s not why.  The Blazers are cursed because of persistent bad management.  This is the team that hired Neil Oshey from the Los Angeles Clippers to be GM… The Clippers had their best seasons the moment Neil left the building.  This is the team that wanted Larry Nance Jr, Ben McLemore, and Robert Covington even after multiple teams wanted those guys gone.  The Blazers stink and they have 3 starters on the injury list including the best Blazer of all time PG Damian Lillaird.

The Portland Trail Blazers have won 5 of their last 10 games.  A .500 record is actually a really good stretch of ten for them. They lost their last two games against the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Chicago Bulls.  They have a tendency to almost never win on the road .  On the road they are a pathetic 7-17 while at home they are 14-13.  This would be a winning team if they never had to get on a plane. Their awfulness comes from PG Damian Lilliard having been out with abdominal tendinopathy since January 12th and before that CJ McCollum missed some time with a concussion and PF Cody Zeller is out with right patellar soreness (knee) and he shouldn’t even be a serious team’s idea of a power forward.  The Blazers desperately need a scrub and rebuild.  The only way to do that is to trade both Damian Lilliard and CJ McCollum separately for picks and waivable players… also add anything you can to the deals and free up money.  Then, for once and for all, sign a whole slate of free and restricted free agents to finally build a new team.  The definition of crazy is to do the same thing over and over again and expect different results… The Blazers should have known that before they drafted Greg Oden over Kevin Durant and we wouldn’t be in this mess.

The Los Angeles Lakers have won 3 of their last 10 games.  They are on a three-game losing streak and they look as bad as they sound, except LeBron.  During this stretch of terribleness the Lakers have lost to the Sacramento Kings, the Indiana Pacers, and the Atlanta Hawks.  It’s often said before someone can turn everything around they have to hit bottom.  The Lakers have a terrible GM.  The guy was an agent and simply doesn’t know how to look at a player without seeing how much money he has made for SOMEONE ELSE.  When you build a roster you have to look at players for what they will do on the court regardless of how many potato chip commercials you see them in.  This team needs Oklahoma City Thunder player Luguentz Dort… if for no other reason than to show the GM how the most hustle and passion can come from a player that was overlooked. Also the ownership group of the Lakers have absolutely no one that understands basketball the way their dad did.  Which is to play poker while you hold your expert GM’s feet to the fire. 

Today, Big Al looks for a great day, and is back on the NBA hardwood with this NBA High Roller Winner out of a 57-34 ATS angle. Don't miss out on the roundball $$$$. Get on board right now! Go get it! Get Big Al’s picks right now at the Shop Picks page, where you can find all of the Best Bets from our champion sports handicappers. NCAAF, NFL, MLB, college football… get positive value from all your bets! Expert picks!  Fun fact… winning a wager is much better than making a wager!

Portland is 21-30 on the season, but 21-29-1 ATS.  They have logged 25 Overs, 25 Unders, and 1 Push.  They are a disastrous 7-17 in road games.

The Lakers are 24-27 on the season, but are 21 and 30 ATS.  They have notched 28 Overs, 22 Unders, and 1 Push.  They are 15-12 in home games. 

Portland is 17th in scoring with 108.4 ppg, 25th in rebounds with 43.4 per game, and 22nd in AST/TO ratio with 1.6.  They are shooting 20th in FG%, 7th in 3PT%, and 16th in FT%.  They really struggle on defense where they rank 26th while allowing 112.4 ppg from opponents.

The Lakers are 11th in scoring with 111 ppg, 17th in rebounds with 44.5 per game, and 23rd in AST/TO ratio with 1.6.  They are shooting 10th in FG%, 17th in 3PT%, and 28th in FT%.  They are 27th on defense while allowing 112.6 ppg from opponents.

Our prediction for Wednesday, February 2nd is….  Lakers 110 - Blazers 99

The Blazers are swooning just enough for the Lakers to finally get a big win.  Lus the Lakers will be at home where they seem to put it together better and the Blazers will be on the road where they simply don’t try.  Bet on the Lakers if you bet it at all.

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The Lakers are 7-5 ATS versus Portland the last 3 seasons.

Portland is 1-8 ATS off an upset loss as a favorite this season.

Blazers: PG Damian Lilliard (abs) Out ** PF Cody Zeller (knee) Out ** SF Nassir Little (shoulder) Out ** SF Larry Nance Jr (knee) Out ** C Jusuf Nurkic (ankle) Prob ** SG Anfernee Simons (hip) Prob

Lakers: SF LeBron James (knee) Out ** SG Malik Monk (groin) Prob ** Pf Anthony Davis (wrist) Prob (if AD doesn’t play he should be traded) ** PG Kendrick Nunn (ankle) Out indefinitely

Blazers: SF Norman Powell, PF Robert Covington, C Jusuf Nurkic, PG Anfernee Simons, SG CJ McCollum

Lakers:  SF Malik Monk, PF Stanley Johnson, C Anthony Davis, PG Russell Westbrook, SG Avery Bradley  

Blazers

Points: Damian Lilliard 24

Assists: Damian Lilliard 7.3

Rebounds: Jusuf Nurkic 10.7

Steals: Robert Covington 1.5

Blocks: Robert Covington 1.3

Lakers

Points: LeBron James 29.1

Assists: Russell Westbrook 7.7

Rebounds: Anthony Davis 9.5

Steals: LeBron James 1.6

Blocks: Anthony Davis 2.1

Blazers: Chauncey Billups

Lakers: Frank Vogel