Los Angeles Lakers vs Cleveland Cavaliers Prediction, 1/28/2026 Preview and Pick

Game: Los Angeles Lakers vs Cleveland Cavaliers

Date: Wednesday, January 28, 2026

Location: Rocket Arena in Cleveland, OH

TV: ESPN

Rocket Arena is where the Cleveland Cavaliers (28-20) will take on the Los Angeles Lakers (28-17) on Wednesday.

The Lakers faced the Bulls and walked away with a win by a score of 129-118 in their last contest. In regard to personal fouls, the Lakers ended up finishing with 15 and the Bulls totaled 20 personal fouls. They converted 18 of their 49 attempts from beyond the perimeter. Chicago went 77.8% from the free throw line by making 14 of their 18 shots. Additionally, Chicago collected 40 boards (5 offensive, 35 defensive) and got 3 blocks. Chicago totaled 31 assists and had 5 steals in this game. When talking about defense, Los Angeles let their opponent shoot 52.4% from the field on 43 of 82 shooting. They also recorded 26 assists for the game while forcing 15 turnovers and earning 7 steals. Regarding getting rebounds, they earned 35 with 3 of them being of the offensive variety. From the free throw line, the Lakers knocked down 21 of their 29 attempts for a rate of 72.4%. Los Angeles wrapped up the contest with a 56.1% FG percentage (46 out of 82) and buried 16 of their 33 3-point shots.

Luka Doncic is a player who played a role in this game. Doncic walked away from this one shooting 60.0% from the field and recorded 12 dimes. He played 38 mins played and also grabbed 7 rebounds. He finished with 46 points on 15 of 25 shooting.

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Los Angeles heads into this matchup with a win-loss mark of 28-17 on the year. They currently have an average of 116.3 pts per contest (15th in the NBA) while going 49.6% from the field. The Lakers are hitting 35.2% on 3-pointers (540 of 1,532) and 77.5% from the charity stripe. As a team, Los Angeles is grabbing 41.4 rebounds per contest and has accumulated 1,123 assists so far this year, which is 24th in the NBA in terms of passing the rock. They are turning it over 14.9 times per game and as a squad they commit 19.4 fouls on a nightly basis.

Defensively, the Lakers are forcing their opponents into 14.6 turnovers every game while drawing 21.7 personal fouls. They give up 37.1% on shots from beyond the perimeter while they are 18th in the league in points per game from their opponents (116.3). The Lakers defense is giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 48.5% (1,911 of 3,937) and they surrender 40.6 rebounds per game as a team. They rank 18th in the league in allowing assists to the opposition with 1,234 relinquished on the season.

When they last stepped on the court, the Cavaliers went home victorious with a score of 114-98 against the Magic. The Cavaliers were able to pull down 38 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive boards totaling 45 for this game. They gave up possession 16 times, while getting 6 steals for the contest. The Magic committed 19 personal fouls in this contest which took the Cavaliers to the free throw line for a total of 27 attempts. They were able to knock down 19 of those for a rate of 70.4%. Pertaining to shots from distance, Cleveland buried 11 out of their 25 tries (44.0%). Overall, the Cavaliers finished shooting 42 for 79 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 53.2%. The Cavaliers permitted the Magic to make 38 out of 94 tries from the field which had them at 40.4% for the matchup. They went 28.2% from three-point range by connecting on 11 of 39 and ended up shooting 11 out of 15 from the free throw line (73.3%). Concerning rebounding, Cleveland permitted Orlando to get 42 in all (13 on the offensive side).

Donovan Mitchell pitched in for the Cavaliers in the game. He converted 15 of 25 in this game giving him a rate of 60.0%, and had 4 rebounds. Mitchell tallied 45 points in his 35 mins on the court and had 4 dimes in this contest.

Cleveland has a mark of 28-20 so far this season. The Cavaliers are responsible for committing 20.5 personal fouls every game and they hit 78.0% from the free throw line. They are earning an assist 28.2 times per game (8th in basketball) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 14.5 times per game. Cleveland has totaled 5,714 pts so far this year (119.0 per contest) and they pull in 44.8 rebounds per contest. As an offensive team, the Cavaliers are connecting on 47.1% from the floor, which ranks 14th in the league.

The Cleveland defense gives up 37.6% on shots from distance (670 of 1,782) and their opposition makes 80.2% of their free throw attempts. They have given up 26.9 dimes and 44.3 rebounds on a nightly basis, which is ranked 17th and 16th in the NBA. The Cavaliers on the defensive side of the court are 20th in the league in PPG surrendered with 116.5. They are forcing 15.6 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 46.2% from the field (11th in the league).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Los Angeles

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