The Golden State Warriors look to move closer to clinching the top seed in the Western Conference when they travel to Los Angeles to face the Lakers on Thursday. The Warriors (53-24) need a combination of three wins or Denver losses to lock up the No. 1 seed with just five games remaining in the regular season. Thursday's tipoff from Staples Center is set for 10:30 p.m. ET, and Golden State has won two of the three meetings this season. Golden State is a 13-point favorite in the latest Warriors vs. Lakers odds, while the over-under for total points scored is 227.5. Before making any Warriors vs. Lakers picks of your own, you need to see what the SportsLine Projection Model has to say.
This model, which simulates every game 10,000 times, is crushing its NBA picks. It entered Week 25 of the 2018-19 NBA season with a sterling 277-216 record on all top-rated picks, returning over $4,500 in profit to anybody following them. And it has been particularly red-hot on its A-rated NBA picks against the spread, entering Week 25 on a strong 69-52 run. Anybody who has followed it is way up.
Now the model has dialed in on Warriors vs. Lakers. We can tell you it is leaning under, but it also says one side of the spread has all the value. That one is available exclusively at SportsLine.
The model knows the Warriors have dominated the Lakers, winning nine of 10 and four straight in Los Angeles. Golden State has already wrapped up its fifth consecutive Pacific Division championship and is an NBA-best 25-13 on the road. It is 32-16 against conference foes and 11-3 against division opponents. The Warriors are tops in the league in field-goal percentage (.490) and second in scoring (117.9 points per game).
In Tuesday's showdown with the Nuggets in a battle for the top spot in the West, DeMarcus Cousins poured in 28 points and reached a milestone with two steals for 800 for his career. Forward Kevin Durant continued his dominance versus Denver, recording his 66th game with 20 or more points. Golden State will also benefit from the Lakers being without LeBron James, Brandon Ingram, and potentially Kyle Kuzma, who has been out since March 29 with an ankle injury.
But just because Golden State has dominated this series doesn't mean it will cover the Warriors vs. Lakers spread on Thursday.
That's because the Lakers have played well of late despite missing several of their best players. In fact, Los Angeles has won four of its last six and is 21-17 at home. The Lakers, who lead the all-time series against Golden State, 252-167, defeated the Warriors 127-101 on Christmas Day.
With all of the injuries, Los Angeles has had several players step up, including guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who scored 23 points at Oklahoma City on Tuesday. Caldwell-Pope is averaging 20.1 points over the past eight games and has hit three or more 3-pointers in 23 games this season, including five on Tuesday. Guard Alex Caruso had 15 against the Thunder and is averaging 14.5 points over the past four games.
So who wins Lakers vs. Warriors? And which side of the spread has all the value? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Lakers vs. Warriors spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that is up more than $4,500 on its top-rated NBA picks this season, and find out.
