Portland Trail Blazers vs Los Angeles Lakers Prediction, 1/2/2025 Preview and Pick

Game: Portland Trail Blazers vs Los Angeles Lakers

Date: Thursday, January 2, 2025

Location: Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA

TV: Spectrum Sportsnet

Crypto.com Arena is the site where the Los Angeles Lakers (18-13) will go up against the Portland Trail Blazers (11-20) on Thursday.

The Trail Blazers stepped onto the hardwood against the Mavericks and earned the victory with a final of 126-122 in their last contest. When talking about fouls, the Trail Blazers ended up with 19 while the Mavericks recorded 21 fouls. They knocked down 15 out of their 38 shots from beyond the arc. Dallas shot 80.8% at the free throw line by knocking down 21 of 26 shots. Moreover, Dallas had 40 rebounds (10 offensive, 30 defensive) and got 7 rejections. Dallas distributed 20 assists and had 6 steals in this matchup. When discussing defense, Portland allowed the other team to shoot 48.3% from the field on 43 of 89 shooting. They also doled out 27 assists in this game as well as creating 13 turnovers and getting 8 steals. Regarding pulling down rebounds, they compiled 50 with 14 of them being on the offensive end. At the free throw line, the Trail Blazers made 23 of 29 attempts for a rate of 79.3%. Portland walked away from the contest having earned a 50.0% FG percentage (46 out of 92) and knocked down 11 of 26 shots from distance.

Shaedon Sharpe is someone who was a major factor in this contest. He left the arena with 23 points on 9 out of 18 shooting. He saw the court for 38 mins played and also collected 5 boards. Sharpe went 50.0% from the floor and recorded 4 assists.

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Portland steps onto the court with a record of 11-20 on the year. They lose possession via turnover 16.2 times per game and as a basketball team they commit 19.8 personal fouls per contest. As a unit, Portland is collecting 43.4 boards per game and has 711 dimes on the campaign, which is 29th in the NBA in terms of passing the ball. The Trail Blazers are connecting on 33.5% on shots beyond the perimeter (375 of 1,120) and 77.3% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 108.2 points per outing (25th in basketball) while going 44.3% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Trail Blazers are forcing 15.3 turnovers per contest and they draw 19.0 personal fouls. They are ranked 25th in the NBA in allowing assists to the opposition with 865 surrendered this season. The Trail Blazers defensively are allowing and opponent field goal percentage of 48.0% (1,309 of 2,729) and they surrender 45.0 boards per contest as a unit. They give up 37.8% on shots from beyond the arc and they are ranked 23rd in the league in PPG allowed (117.1).

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Lakers got the win with a final of 132-122 against the Kings. The Lakers recorded 29 defensive rebounds and 4 offensive boards totaling 33 in this game. They coughed it up 11 times, while recording 4 steals in this matchup. The Kings committed 26 fouls in this game which took the Lakers to the charity stripe for 33 attempts. They were able to make 26 of the free throws for a rate of 78.8%. When it comes to shots from beyond the arc, Los Angeles made 14 of 26 tries (53.8%). When the final whistle blew, the Lakers shot 46 out of 77 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 59.7%. The Lakers allowed the Kings to bury 50 out of their 98 attempts from the field which had them shooting 51.0% in this contest. They shot 27.5% from distance by shooting 11 out of 40 and finished the game at 11 out of 15 at the free throw line (73.3%). When discussing rebounding, Los Angeles allowed Sacramento to collect 39 in total (13 on the offensive side).

Anthony Davis ended up being a major contributor for the Lakers for the matchup. Davis had 36 points in his 39 mins on the court and earned 8 assists for the matchup. He converted 12 of 16 in the game giving him a field goal percentage of 75.0%, and had 15 rebounds.

Los Angeles has a mark of 18-13 so far this year. The Lakers are committing 16.4 fouls per game and they go 78.4% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 26.4 times per contest (12th in basketball) and they are losing possession via turnover 13.6 times per game. Los Angeles has totaled 3,471 points on the campaign (112.0 per game) and they pull in 41.2 boards per game. On the offensive side of the court, the Lakers are shooting 47.4% from the field, which is 9th in the league.

The Los Angeles defense gives up 36.3% on shots from behind the 3-point line (416 of 1,146) and opponents are connecting on 79.0% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have allowed 28.3 assists and 44.2 boards on a nightly basis, which is 27th and 20th in the NBA. The Lakers are ranked 18th in the league in PPG given up with 114.1. They are able to force 14.4 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 47.7% from the field (26th in the league).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Los Angeles

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