Los Angeles Lakers vs Golden State Warriors 3/15/21: Starting Lineups, Matchup Preview, Betting Odds

Los Angeles Lakers vs. Golden State Warriors Matchup Preview

Both the Warriors and Lakers came out of the All-Star break with a win, as the Warriors shockingly beat the Jazz and the Lakers beat Indiana. Anthony Davis will be out for the next few weeks still, as many are beginning to look at this injury a bit more seriously. Both teams were limping into the All-Star Break and for their own reasons. Los Angeles has been struggling without Davis, while the Warriors lack consistency from everybody not named Steph Curry. The Lakers sit third in the Western Conference, where they are three games back of the Jazz. The Warriors are 20-19 and likely will be in this play-in range, where they are now (9th). The West continues to be a battle, and we knew that was going to be the case before the season started. The Lakers are two-point favorites tonight, as they looked to build on the second-half win. For odds movement and full matchup history, visit the Los Angeles Lakers At Golden State Warriors Matchup Page.

TV Schedule

Date: 3/15/21
Time: 10:30 PM ET
Arena: Chase Center – San Francisco, CA
Channel: ESPN

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Lakers Starting 5

PG: Dennis Schroder
SG: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
SF: LeBron James
PF: Markieff Morris
C: Damian Jones

Lakers Analysis

Los Angeles has now been without Anthony Davis for 15 games, and they are scoring 108 points per game without him, compared to 113 with him playing. They are 8-7 in those 15 games without him, and offenses are finding it a bit easier to navigate around what was one of the top defenses in the league. We have seen LeBron throttle his energy over this stretch, and we will likely see teams keep a tame pace and hope to flip the switch come the postseason. It was Kyle Kuzma who stepped up against Indiana and did Montrezl Harrell. Both came off the bench for Markieff Morris and Damian Jones, who played less than 20. The Lakers needed this help as both James and Schroder had an off night offensively. Both will certainly need to step things up, facing Stephen Curry, who is averaging 29 points per game this season. Harrell will have a chance to attack a limited Warriors frontcourt, and Kuzma is going to need to find some consistency until Davis returns.

Warriors Starting 5

PG: Stephen Curry
SG: Andrew Wiggins
SF: Kelly Oubre
PF: Draymond Green
C: James Wiseman

Warriors Analysis

It was another MVP-like performance for Stephen Curry, as he dropped a 32-5-9 line, going 6 of 9 from three and 50% from the field overall. Andrew Wiggins also had a strong game and is quietly averaging 17 per game this season, on 47% shooting. The rest of this group continues to be up and down, but some of these names that is to be expected. The rookie, James Wiseman, has averaged 12-5-1 this season with a block per game. He returned from injury just before the break, but the Jazz game was interesting. He came off the bench and played 23 minutes, scoring 16 points with four boards and a block. Draymond Green needs to have these vintage performances more often, he had a triple-double with four steals, and his overall shooting looked better. That has been the fall off over the last few years. The center of the floor will be a little less crowded with Davis out, and there should be quite a bit of spacing between the two teams.

Lakers & Warriors DFS Angle

With a 224 over/under and two-point spread, Vegas is certainly pointing us towards this one, but it is only the fourth-highest total on the night. This should be a high-scoring slate. Both LeBron James and Stephen Curry are the focal points of the offense, and both in a good spot tonight. Their usage is sitting over 30% on the year, and they are averaging right around 45 fantasy points per game in the last ten. Schroder has picked up his play of let, averaging 30 fantasy points per game in the last ten. I don’t mind him tonight, but the price has gone up a little. Wiggins and Oubre will have to deal with some lengthier bodies, which is of concern, but I don’t mind them in GPPs. Kyle Kuzma and Montrezl Harrell remain the big men to target for the Lakers and offer some nice mid-range value. Draymond is solely a GPP play this season, and I like this spot for him and the upside, especially at his price tag. He has a 50 fantasy point ceiling over the last ten games.

Heat vs. Warriors Betting Odds

Lakers Spread: +2
Lakers Moneyline: -128
Warriors Spread: +2
Warriors Moneyline: +106
Over/Under Points Total: 224

Both teams have been slightly below .500 when it comes to covering the spread this season. We have a small spread as the Warriors are a team that can beat anyone because of Curry and the upside of some of the players around them. As for the Lakers, we expect them to cover games against lesser teams, but without Davis, there is a significant dropoff. The over is being hit hard by the public, despite the under-hitting in 6 of the last 9 Warriors games and 5 of the last seven against the Lakers overall. Recent Lakers games have gone under as well, hitting 70% of the time in the last ten. There is a lot of confidence in some of these sporadic shooters to hit tonight. I like going against the grain here.