Getty LeBron James & Andrew Wiggins.
The Los Angeles Lakers are 12.5-point favorites over the Phoenix Suns on Monday night in Los Angeles.
ESPN’s FPI gives Los Angeles an 84.1% chance of winning this game. We break down the line and offer our best bets and analysis for Monday’s matchup between the Suns and Lakers.
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Suns vs. Lakers Game Details
Date: Monday, February 10
Time: 10:30 p.m. ET
Location: STAPLES Center (Los Angeles, California)
TV: FSN, NBATV, SPECSN, Sportsnet
Spread: Lakers -12.5
Total: 229
*All lines, odds & trends courtesy of FanDuel, Covers, & The Action Network
Key Injuries
- C Deandre Ayton (ankle) questionable
Lakers
- None
Betting Trends
- Suns are 21-32 SU and 25-27-1 ATS this season
- Lakers are 39-12 SU and 26-24-1 ATS this season
- Over is 28-25 in Suns games this season
- Over is 26-25 in Lakers games this season
Best Prop
The Lakers and Suns meet Monday night in Los Angeles as the NBA gears up for All-Star Weekend in Chicago. With the lengthy break looming, it’s likely that some players will begin to set their sights on some time away from the court and will look to make the most of the two games remaining before the break. For the Lakers, with two-fifths of the starting lineup heading to the All-Star Game (LeBron James, Anthony Davis) it would not be surprising if some of the role players stepped up this week.
Avery Bradley scored a season-high 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting on Saturday in the win over the Warriors. Bradley is averaging just 8.4 points per game however that has increased to 14.6 points over his last five games as Bradley has gotten a little more playing time of late. The Suns’ defense is ranked 20th in the NBA allowing 113.6 points per game. This is a good spot for Bradley to exceed his reasonably-priced point total prop.
PICK: Avery Bradley Over 8.5 Points
Best Bet
Phoenix has hit the skids going just 1-5 SU and ATS over its last six games. The Suns are coming off a hard-fought 117-108 home loss against the Nuggets on Saturday, the second game of a back-to-back. Head coach Monty Williams pushed his starters on short rest, giving Kelly Oubre Jr. and Deandre Ayton 42 minutes each. Ayton had 28 points and 19 boards in the extended stretch with Devin Booker pouring in 21 points on 5-of-16 shooting.
The Lakers have won each of the first two meetings against the Suns this season, icluding a 117-107 home win back on New Year’s Day. Los Angeles has dropped tw of three games ATS since the tragic death of Kobe Bryant, including a 125-120 home win last time out against the Warriors where they failed to cover the frothy 14-points spread.
The oddsmakers aren’t doing the Lakers any favors with these big numbers, but their offense is certainly good enough to cover them. Los Angeles leads the NBA in shooting (48.7%) with Lebron James as the trigger man. James has had double-digit assists in four of the last five games as he continues to be one of the elite distributors in the NBA. Phoenix’s stamina concerns me after key starters received extended minutes just 48 hours ago. Back the rested Lakers squad to streak past the Suns.
PICK: Lakers -12.5
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Follow Jared Smith on Twitter: @jaredleesmith