NBA Christmas: Brooklyn Nets vs. LA Lakers Preview, Odds, Prediction

The Brooklyn Nets and LA Lakers highlight the NBA Christmas program. Unfortunately, both sides won’t play with the strongest lineups, but the game will feature several top superstars of today’s basketball. The guests from Brooklyn are in a bit worse position, but they won’t give up, that is for sure, particularly because LAL isn’t convincing at all. The purple and gold posted several losses in a row, and are currently below the .500-mark, which is a massive surprise.

Preview

Brooklyn Nets (21-9, -110) are without Kevin Durant and LaMarcus Aldridge, and Kyrie Irving, who is coming back following a pause, won’t travel to LA, because he too is in health and safety protocols, and due to restrictions imposed on unvaccinated players in the NBA.

After winning four in a row, the Nets would lose to the Orlando Magic at home, 100-93, but we need to stress out that COVID-19 played a major role in that one, s they played with only eight players in the rotation. Patty Mills scored 23 points, having a team-high, but shooting threes miserably, 2-for-14. David Duke Jr. scored 18 and had 14 boards, indicating that he might be useful even when this chaotic state is over.

Cam Thomas added 15, and he, too, shot poorly from three-point territory, 1-for-7. Veteran forward, Blake Griffin ended the night with 17 buckets and seven boards with six assists as well. When mentioning long-distance shooting, just to say that Brooklyn fired 46 shots behind the arc, hitting only nine.

LA Lakers (16-17, +100) have four defeats in a row, two on the road and two at home. The first pair was in Minnesota and Chicago, while the second one took place at the newly named Crypto.com Arena, to the Phoenix Suns 108-90 and the Spurs, 138-110.

To be honest, we didn’t expect to see the Lakers trashed against San Antonio. Furthermore, they were favorites, but they simply couldn’t do anything against Gregg Popovich and his unit. Especially while shooting 5-for-27 for three and 17-for-30 from the free-throw line.

LeBron had 36 points, nine boards, and six assists, while Russell Westbrook added 30, having seven rebounds. Talen Horton-Tucker was the only one left with a double-digit number of buckets – 13. The bench was very weak, delivering 20 points, Melo having nine alone.

Head to Head

This will be their first meeting in this campaign. In 2021 both teams split one win each, triumphing on the road. The Nets did that in LA, 109-98, and the Lakers were better at Barclays, 126-101.

Prediction

The lucky thing for the Nets is that James Harden comes back. Even though the Beard isn’t playing at the highest possible level this season, he is still a dominant factor on the offensive side of the ball. Though, the Lakers are playing at home, and after losing four in a row, LeBron and the boys will try to stop this negative skid in prime time. He and Westbrook are too much for the banged-up Nets, who don’t have too many players able to guard them. All of them are youngsters without experience and reputation. Therefore, our final pick is LAL to win.

Pick: Lakers win +100

Here are the previews for other games:

Warriors vs. Suns

Celtics vs. Bucks