Portland Trail Blazers vs Los Angeles Lakers Preview (11/30/22): Prediction, Starting Lineups, Odds

The Lillard-less Trail Blazers will travel to Los Angeles to play the second game of their back-to-back against the Lakers. Below, I cover the projected starting lineups, which include the updated injury reports, as well as the current odds for the game and my predictions.

Portland Trail Blazers Vs. Los Angeles Lakers Betting Odds

The Portland Trail Blazers are 5.5-point road dogs against the Lakers in Los Angeles. Damian Lillard, Keon Johnson, and Gary Payton II are expected to miss this game for the Blazers, while Patrick Beverley is suspended for Los Angeles. The point total for this matchup is 226 points at the time this article was written. Check the table above for the most updated odds!

Portland Trail Blazers Vs. Los Angeles Lakers Prediction

After a disappointing home loss to the Indiana Pacers via a game-winning three-point shot from Andrew Nembhard, the Los Angeles Lakers will look to bounce back and maintain some of the momentum they have had in the past few games. As a matter of fact, the Lakers were winners of five of their past six before the game versus Indiana, with the only loss coming to the Phoenix Suns on the road.

Los Angeles seems to be on to something; it has successfully steered Russell Westbrook into a solid bench role, thus breaking up the minutes that LeBron James and Westbrook are on the floor. Both players command a high usage percentage, so splitting them up a bit makes sense. Westbrook has transitioned well into his role as the offensive playmaker for the second unit. Additionally, Anthony Davis seems to be playing his best ball in a number of years, averaging an astonishing 32 points, 17 rebounds, three assists, three blocks, and two steals in his past six games. Everyone seems to be gaining confidence in each other, making this team a competitive one in the Western Conference.

Meanwhile, Portland will face two Los Angeles teams in two days when it travels to the “City of Angels” for its second night of a back-to-back. Unfortunately, the Blazers’ first game was at home, and this one is on the road, meaning they had to travel right after that bout with the Clippers. The absence of All-Star Damian Lillard should continue to hinder the Blazers. In conclusion, the Lakers are simply the hotter team and have more star power, and there’s just no way for me to justify throwing down money on Portland until Lillard is back. I’ll take the Lakers (reluctantly) against the spread.

Betting Trends

• Portland is 9-3 ATS on the road in 2022-23
• Los Angeles is 5-6 ATS at home in 2022-23
• The combined over record of these two teams is 16-21-2 in 2022-23

Key Matchups

Look no further than Anthony Davis and the frontcourt that will be defending him as the obvious key matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers. Check out a further analysis below of why this matchup is so important to the outcome of this game!

Anthony Davis vs. Portland’s Frontcourt

Ultimately, this is the key matchup that will likely dictate the outcome of this game. Anthony Davis has helped the Lakers win five of their past seven games, and it just as easily could have been six if Andrew Nembhard had a quarter of a second less to shoot his eventual game-winner!

As mentioned above, AD is a force to be reckoned with right now; he’s posting 32/17/3/3/2 on 64% shooting from the field and 87% from the charity stripe in his past six games. In addition, the Trail Blazers are allowing the eighth-most points to opposing centers, which should provide plenty of opportunities for AD to get clean looks, especially if he can stretch Jusuf Nurkic away from the rim. Advantage: AD.

Portland Trail Blazers Starting Lineup

PG: Anfernee Simons
SG: Shaedon Sharpe
SF: Justise Winslow
PF: Jerami Grant
C: Jusuf Nurkic

Los Angeles Lakers Starting Lineups

PG: Dennis Schroder
SG: Lonnie Walker IV
SF: LeBron James
PF: Troy Brown Jr
C: Anthony Davis

Key Injuries

Portland Trail Blazers Injuries: Gary Payton II (Out), Keon Johnson (Out), Damian Lillard (Out)

Los Angeles Lakers Injuries: Patrick Beverley (Out), Cole Swider (Out)