The Los Angeles Lakers fell short against Patrick Beverley and the Chicago Bulls on Sunday in LeBron James’ return, and the two teams are back in action against each other on Wednesday night in Chicago.
The Lakers are starting to get back to full strength with James coming back from a foot injury, and that’s a good sign for them making the postseason in a crowded Western Conference.
The Bulls lost to the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night, but they have gone 10-6 since signing Beverley and rank in the top-10 in the NBA in defensive rating this season.
This game is nearly set as a pick’em, but James, Anthony Davis and the Lakers are getting a slight edge in Vegas.
Here’s the latest odds and my best bet for this game:
Lakers vs. Bulls odds, spread and total
Lakers vs. Bulls prediction and pick
It may come as a surprise, but this is just the fifth time all season that the Lakers have been favored on the road.
Los Angeles is just 2-2 ATS in those games, while the Bulls are 7-9-1 ATS as a home underdog.
The Bulls are in the running for much more than just the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament, but I don’t think they pull off the season sweep against the Lakers.
James came off the bench on Sunday, but he should return to his normal role in his second game back.
While the Bulls beat the Lakers by 10, they had an uncharacteristic shooting performance in the game. They shot 54.0 percent from the field and 45.2 percent from 3, making 14 shots from beyond the arc.
On the season, Chicago ranks 29th in 3-pointers made per game at just 10.5.
The Bulls are going to need another strong shooting game to beat Los Angeles twice, and I think James and company come out with a sense of urgency in this game.
The Lakers can’t afford a sweep against an average team if they want a shot at the postseason. I’ll take a shot on them as road favorites to win.
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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.