Los Angeles Lakers vs Portland Trail Blazers Prediction, 1/17/2026 Preview and Pick

Game: Los Angeles Lakers vs Portland Trail Blazers

Date: Saturday, January 17, 2026

Location: Moda Center in Portland, OR

TV: NBA TV

Moda Center is where the Portland Trail Blazers (19-22) will attempt to beat the Los Angeles Lakers (24-14) on Saturday.

The Lakers faced off with the Hawks and went home with a win by a final score of 141-116 in their last contest. Regarding fouls, the Lakers ended up finishing with 17 and the Hawks totaled 23 fouls. They knocked down 13 of 46 attempts from beyond the arc. Atlanta finished the game at 72.2% at the charity stripe by converting 13 of their 18 tries. In addition, Atlanta snagged 32 boards (12 offensive, 20 defensive) and added 3 blocks. Atlanta totaled 30 assists and had 11 steals for the contest. Concerning defense, Los Angeles allowed 45.0% from the field on 45 of 100 shooting. They also recorded 36 assists for this game while creating 6 turnovers and having 2 steals. In reference to pulling down boards, they collected 47 with 10 of them being on the offensive end. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Lakers made 26 of 30 tries for a rate of 86.7%. Los Angeles wrapped up the game having earned a 57.8% FG percentage (48 out of 83) and buried 19 out of their 34 3-point shots.

LeBron James is a player who was a major contributor for this game. He had 31 points on 12 out of 20 shooting. He was on the court for 33 minutes and also pulled down 9 rebounds. James ended up shooting 60.0% from the field and also totaled 10 assists.

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Los Angeles will take the court with a win-loss record of 24-14 on the year. They have an average of 116.5 points per contest (15th in basketball) while shooting 49.8% from the field. The Lakers are connecting on 34.4% on 3-pointers (448 of 1,302) and 77.8% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Los Angeles is pulling down 41.5 boards per contest and is sitting with 955 dimes for the campaign, which has them ranked 26th in the NBA in terms of passing the rock. They turn it over 15.3 times per contest and as a unit are committing 19.7 fouls on a nightly basis.

When they are on the defensive end, the Lakers are forcing 15.0 turnovers every game and they draw 22.3 fouls. They are giving up 37.1% on shots from beyond the arc and they are ranked 17th in the NBA in PPG allowed (116.4). The Lakers defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 48.7% (1,617 of 3,321) and they relinquish 40.3 rebounds per game as a group. They are 13th in basketball in giving up assists to their opponents with 1,043 relinquished so far this year.

The last time they took the hardwood, the Trail Blazers walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 119-97 when they played the Warriors. The Trail Blazers pulled down 37 defensive boards and 8 offensive boards for a total of 45 in this matchup. They gave up possession 22 times, while getting 7 steals for this game. The Warriors committed 14 fouls for the game which got the Trail Blazers to the free throw line for a total of 17 attempts. They were able to make 11 of the free throws for a rate of 64.7%. When it comes to 3-point attempts, Portland converted 14 out of 47 attempts (29.8%). When the final whistle blew, the Trail Blazers went 36 out of 83 from the field which gave them a percentage of 43.4%. The Trail Blazers permitted the Warriors to bury 42 out of 89 attempts from the field which gave them a percentage of 47.2% for this contest. They finished 40.4% from three-point range by going 23 of 57 and ended up shooting 12 out of 13 from the charity stripe (92.3%). In the matter of cleaning the glass, Portland permitted Golden State to snag 34 in all (4 on the offensive side).

Shaedon Sharpe ended up being a major contributor for the Trail Blazers in this game. He knocked down 9 out of 15 for this contest for a field goal percentage of 60.0%, and tallied 2 rebounds. Sharpe earned 19 points in his 28 minutes of playing time and earned 2 dimes in this game.

Portland has a mark of 19-22 on the year. On the offensive side of the ball, the Trail Blazers are hitting on 44.7% from the floor, which ranks 28th in basketball. Portland has scored 4,749 pts so far this season (115.8 per contest) and they snag 45.1 boards per contest. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 24.6 times per contest (27th in the league) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 16.9 times per game. The Trail Blazers are committing 21.3 fouls every game and they go 77.8% from the free throw line.

The Portland defense gives up 35.2% on 3-pointers (518 of 1,470) and opponents are converting on 80.1% of their foul shots. They surrender 26.9 dimes and 44.2 total rebounds per game, which ranks 16th and 15th in the NBA. The Trail Blazers are ranked 24th in basketball in PPG allowed with 118.9. They are forcing 15.1 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 47.2% from the floor (19th in the league).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Los Angeles

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