The Los Angeles Lakers will try to get back on track this Thursday night against the Boston Celtics in marquee action on the NBA betting slate.
The Los Angeles Lakers are 2-6 straight up and 4-4 against the spread over their last eight games. Things don’t get any easier for the Lakers on Thursday night when they visit the Boston Celtics.
Los Angeles opened as a 7.5-point underdog on the NBA odds in Boston at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com for Thursday night, although the line had been slow to come out due to uncertainty on the trade market. Despite their straight-up struggles, the Lakers are 4-1 ATS over their last five road games.
Los Angeles Lakers at Boston Celtics
When: Thursday, February 7, 8:00 p.m. ET
Where: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Betting Line / Total: Boston -7.5 / 221.5 Points
Los Angeles Lakers Notes
LeBron James suffered the worst loss of his career on Tuesday as the Lakers got crushed by 42 points in a 136-94 defeat on the road against the Indiana Pacers.
With Lonzo Ball out indefinitely with an ankle injury and Anthony Davis trade rumors swirling around the team, Los Angeles is struggling. At 27-27 SU and 24-29-1 ATS, the Lakers sit outside of the playoff picture in the Western Conference.
The Lakers have enjoyed success against Boston in recent years with a 6-5 SU and 8-3 ATS record in their last 11 games against the Celtics per the OddsShark NBA Database.
Boston Celtics Notes
After struggling to find their form through the first half of the season, the Celtics are finally playing like contenders over the last month. Boston is 10-1 SU and 5-5-1 ATS over its last 11 games with the only loss over that stretch coming against the defending champion Golden State Warriors.
While the Celtics have some distractions of their own to deal with including Kyrie Irving’s lack of a long-term commitment and interest in trading for Anthony Davis this offseason, it doesn’t appear to be affecting the team on the court.
Lakers at Celtics Total
Thursday night’s total is set at 221.5 points. The UNDER is 4-1 in the last five games between Boston and Los Angeles.
When Davis shocked the basketball world with his in-season trade demand, these two teams were immediately drawn in to the media firestorm. The Lakers have reportedly offered virtually their entire roster outside of LeBron James for Davis, so the mood inside the locker room can’t be too great.
Los Angeles will have to get things together soon however or risk missing the playoffs entirely, a previously unimaginable scenario with LeBron James in town.
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