Lakers Look for Season Sweep
Washington is two games into a nine-day, six-game road trip, which has thus far resulted in losses to Denver on December 14th and a 102-93 loss today against the Los Angeles Clippers. Worse, the team has lost nine straight games dating back to November 28th when they beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 142-127.
That streak includes a home loss to the Lakers 130-119 on December 4th, the first of the two games (home and away) scheduled between the teams this season. The Wizards are currently 11-19 on the season and 3-12 on the road.
The Lakers are last in the Pacific division with a 12-16 record and had been trending upward up until the past two weeks. Successive losses to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Toronto Raptors, and Philadelphia 76ers in the middle of their six-game road trip and a home game loss to the Boston Celtics have kept them out of the play-in mix. Los Angeles is 5-5 over their last ten games. Los Angeles has an excellent opportunity to get back on track against a Wizards team that has yet to win a game this month.
Even without Davis, current NBA betting odds heading into Sunday’s game paint the Lakers as 4.5-point favorites against the struggling Wizards. Moneyline has the Lakers at -190 and Washington at +160 as we head to the overnight. The Lakers are 12-16-0 against the spread this season (42.9%). The Wizards are 10-17-3 against the spread (37.0%), which is the third worst in the NBA thus far this season.
Current Trade Rumors
Sunday’s game will showcase two Washington Wizards rumored to be of interest to the Lakers. With Washington struggling, rumors about the team possibly trading Bradley Beal have been swirling, and the Lakers would likely be in the mix if he became available and agreed to waive his no-trade clause.
More immediately, Ex-Laker Kyle Kuzma has been named a potential Lakers trade target for a while now.
Kuzma has been playing well with Washington, averaging a career-highs in points and assists this season despite the team’s struggles. The 27-year-old Flint, Michigan, power forward was initially drafted by the Lakers 27th overall in the 2017 NBA Draft. This season he’s averaging 21.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and over 35 minutes per game.
Lakers vs. Wizards
Game Time: Sunday, December 18 at 6:30 p.m. ET
Where: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angels, California
Coverage:
TV: ESPN
Radio: 710 AM ESPN LA
Injuries:
Wizards, Will Barton, QUESTIONABLE (foot); Delon Wright, OUT (hamstring); Rui Hachimura, OUT (ankle); Bradley Beal, QUESTIONABLE (hamstring)
Lakers, LeBron James, PROBABLE (ankle); Anthony Davis, OUT (foot); Wenyen Gabriel, QUESTIONABLE (shoulder); Juan Toscano-Anderson, OUT (ankle)
