Tonight we will have a chance to see a cross Conference match-up between 76ers and Lakers at Wells Fargo Center.
Lakers had a great start of the season, but when we take a look at Lakers latest form there is no way to put it nicely. They are terrible. Lakers failed to win all of their last 8 matches. Despite some of those matches being close, a loss is still a loss. Their last match against Brooklyn Nets ended with a score of (107:97) for Nets. Lakers had a good 1st (27:30) and 3rd (23:33) quarter, but they let down their guard in 2nd (25:13) and 4th (32:21) quarter. Best two scorers for Lakers were Williams (16pts) and Young (14pts), whereas we could see top 3 spots being taken by Brooklyn Nets Bogdanovic (23pts), Kilpatrick (22pts) and Lopez (20pts). This defeat should have let a bitter taste in Lakers mouth as they were defeated by one of the worst teams in the league, with a record of 7-17. A huge problem for Lakers is their defence, as they have let their opponents score over 100 points in all of their last 8 games and this was their 6th match, where opponents scored over 106 points. Looking at season average, Lakers give up 111 points per game.
Philadelphia 76ers are not where they want to be. They are currently sharing the spot with Mavericks as the worst team in the league. 76ers record of 6-19 is not something they could be proud of. Despite that, they did manage to win 2 out of last 3 matches. They played against Pelicans (88:99) and Pistons (79:97). A win against Pistons was a huge surprise as 76ers were a clear underdogs., but still managed to win by astonishing 18 points. Philadelphia last fixture resulted in a loss, as they failed to win over Toronto Raptors (114:123). But still it was a great performance by 76ers. They might even won if they hadn’t had a bad 3rd quarter (20:32). Philadelphia did show their worth in the last quarter (40:32) but just failed to grab their 3rd consecutive win. The best scorer for the home side in that match was Covington (26pts, 2ast and 12 rebounds).
Verdict & Prediction
There is no secret Philadelphia 76ers are having a terrible season so far, but looking at their last 3 matches they are improving. A lot. They might have not won over Toronto Raptors, but they put up a good fight. On the other hand, I don’t see any improvement from Lakers. 76ers are clearly playing better than Lakers, and despite needing some more work, this game should end in their favour.
Prediction: Philadelphia 76ers +1.5
Odds: 1.96 Pinancle
