Game Time: 9:00 PM ET, Friday, March 11th, 2022 

Venue:  Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California

Where to Watch: NBA TV

DraftKings:  Spread:  Lakers -4.5

Fanduel:  Spread:  Lakers -4.5

BetMGM:  Spread: Lakers -4.5

Wizards: 29-35, 11th place Eastern Conference

Lakers: 28-37, 10th place Western Conference

A non-conference matchup that will prove which conference is better.  The Eatern Conference has a 6-way jumble at the top.  Lots of teams show promise of winning it all.  Whether they make it through in the standings or win a playoff series, they weren’t projected to win… it’s a wide open field.  A bad team in the East like the Washington Wizards can point to how many good teams they go up against.  The Western Conference has a clear three teams at the top… The Phoenix Suns, the Memphis Grizzlies, and the Golden State Warriors… everyone else is so flawed that we just don’t pay them any attention.  A bad team like the Lakers have few excuses outside of an injured player… or just bad ownership and stewardship.  A word to the wise… players’ agents are not qualified to run a team.  They love fame and the perceived money that fame is worth… Fame doesn’t play basketball.

The Washington Wizards just lost to the Los Angeles Clippers on the same floor.  They have won only 4 of their last ten games.  They went 5-5 ATS.  If they were in the West they would be 1 spot higher than the Lakers with a 2 game lead for that spot.  The Wizards are not world beaters by any stretch of the imagination… the 4 wins were against the Indiana Pacer, the Detroit Pistons, the Brooklyn Nets without KD or James Harden, and the Detroit Pistons again.  This is a bad team… they do not win quality games,.  The big problem with the Wizards is they should have traded Bradley Beal 2 seasons ago when he was at the peak of his value.  That’s it.  The Wizards don’t know when to move and when to stay put… the result is 20 years of nothingness.  The advantage the Wizards have in this game is SF Kyle Kuzma, PF Montrezl Harrell, and SG Kentavious Caldwell-Pope… they all used to be Lakers as soon as last season.  They all have a Championship ring!  They all; hate that the Lakers need them more than their current team.

The Los Angeles Lakers have only won 2 of their last ten games.  One of those games required a 50+ point performance from LeBron James.  The dumbest thing about how bad the Lakers are is obviously their Gm and their Owner… neither are qualified to be either.  Jeannie Buss is not Jerry Buss… the Agent is not Jerry West.  The game is not about wishing… you have to actually respect the franchise enough to not approve terrible deals.  You have to want to actually win games not just NOW but also tomorrow. You can’t spend your days calling ex-boyfriends for advice… or previous backup Centers from the 80’s.  You have to actually know that trading big for small and young for old… IS BAD.  Adding draft picks to that equation should put Jim Buss back in control to help SELL THE TEAM to someone who knows what they are doing.  My bet would be on Cathie Wood from ARK investment… She seems to know that you buy low and sell high… and she doesn’t have to call anyone to help her make ten wrong decisions in a row.  In Lakerland… leading scorer LeBron james is gunning for the scoring title… to add another all-time record (age plus scoring title) to his “I’m better than MJ '' speech at the Hall of Fame induction.  The truth is he is better than MJ… he just doesn’t know that his team wasn’t worth  all he did to live in Southern California.  At any time LeBron could have just taken less money to win 3-4 more titles. He will have to settle for the one he got from the purple and gold.  

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The Wizards are 29-35 on the season, but 25-37-2 ATS.  They have logged 34 Overs, 29 Unders, and1 Push.  They are 12-18 in road games. 

The Los Angeles Lakers are 28-37 on the season, but 27-37-1 ATS.  They have notched 35 Overs, 29 Unders, and 1 Push.  They are 19-16 in home games

The Wizards are 21st in scoring with 108.1 ppg, 25th in rebounds with 43.4 per game, and 10th in AST/TO ratio with 1.8.  They are ranked 17th on defense while holding opponents to 110.8 ppg.

The Lakers are 13th in scoring with 110.9 ppg, 16th in rebounds with 44.5 per game, and 23rd in AST/TO ratio with 1.6.  On defense they rank 26th while allowing 113.2 ppg from opponents.

Our prediction for Friday, March 11th is…. Wizards 118 - Lakers 115

The Lakers are in a drastic funk and will see Kyle Kuzma abuse them.  It will be a close game like a lot of Laker games recently.  The better story line is who will miss the shot.. Than who will make the shot.

(will update tonight as numbers settle)

Wizards: SG Bradley Beal (wrist) Out ** PF Vernon Carey Jr (hip) Out

Lakers: PF Anthony Davis (ankle) Out *8 PG Kendrick Nunn (ankle) Out 

Wizards: SF Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, PF Kyle Kuzma, C Kristaps Porzingis, PG Raul Neto, SG Corey Kispert

Lakers: PF Stanley Johnson, SF Austin Reeves, C LeBron James, SG Russell Westbrook, PG Malik Monk

Wizards

Points: Bradley Beal 23.2

Assists: Bradley Beal 6.6

Rebounds: Kyle Kuzma 8.7

Steals: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 1.1

Blocks: Kristaps Porzingis 1.5

Lakers

Points: LeBron James 29.3

Assists: Russell Westbrook 7.2

Rebounds: Anthony Davis 9.7

Steals: LeBron James 1.5

Blocks: Anthony Davis 2.3

Wizards: Wes Unseld Jr

Lakers: Frank “dead man walking” Vogel.