NBA: Los Angeles Lakers VS Phoenix Suns Pick and Predictions 12/19/2022

Game: 9:10 PM ET,  Monday, December 19th, 2022

Venue: Footprint Center, Glendale, Arizona

TV:  NBA TV

Lakers: 12-16, 12th place Western Conference

Suns: 18-12, 4th place Western Conference

BetMGM:  Point Spread: Suns -10.5, O/U 230.5

PointsBet: Point Spread: Suns -10.5, O/U 231

Fanduel: Point Spread: Suns -10.5, O/U 231

Lakers: SF Lonnie Walker IV, PF LeBron James, C Anthony Davis, SG Dennis Schroder, PG 

Patrick Beverley

Suns: Pf Torrey Craig, SF Mikal Bridges, C Bismack Biyombo, SG Devin Booker, PG Chris Paul

A Western Conference NBA matchup of the haves and the have nots.  The Phoenix Suns have a complete team… they may suffer the occasional injury that hinders winning… or the occasional regression that hinders winning (see Chris Paul and Jae Crowder)... but man oh man are they a complete team.  They have depth at every position… whether it be through trade, signing, or simple drafting.. The Suns are loaded with teammates that can handle their position and have nothing else to prove.  The Los Angeles Lakers have 3 stars and a handful of 2nd round draft picks or undrafted free agents or flat out players that other teams gave up on.  The three stars are nice… LeBron James, Russell Westbrook and the often injured Anthony Davis.  Amthony Davis is the only Laker element that could flat out decide this game.  Let’s check the numbers and the INJURY LIST to see what exact elements will be playing… and we can make a great betting opportunity out of this game.

The Los Angeles Lakers have won 5 of their last 10 games.  When they win it is because everyone is playing and playing well… when they lose it is because Anthony Davis is sitting out with the flu or a hurt big toe or a hurt foot.  6th man Russell Westbrook has been very good off the bench and probably has found the appropriate way to use him until he retires from the NBA.  LeBron has played well like when he got 30 points and 9 rebounds in their last win to the SAME Denver Nuggets 126-108.  Anthony Davis was able to give the Lakers 10 pts, 4 rbs, and 2 asts in just 17 minutes… but now we have to wonder how long he will be out with the current ailment that caused him to leave the game.

The Phoenix Suns are killers on their home court with a 13-3 record.  They are on a 2-game winning streak, but winners of only 4 of their last 10 games.  The Pelicans ate their lunch during that stretch, but the Suns got a third chance in just 4 regular season games against the Pelicans and won their last game against them 118-114. In that game the Suns held off Zion’s 30 point game and CJ McCollum's 27 point game… with 58 BIG POINTS from SG Devin Booker… The Suns almost didn’t need anything else but found 18 points from CP3, 15 from Mikal Bridges, and 11 from Bismack Biyombo.  Devin had his game flowing perfectly as he went 21 of 35 from the floor with 50% 3-points shooting (6 of 12).... It helps to also log 10 made free throws on your way to 58 points.

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LAL: 12-16, 12-15-1 ATS, 12-15-1 O/U, 7-7 in home games.

PHO: 18-12, 16-14 ATRS, 14-16 O/U, 13-3 at home.

The Lakers are 9th in scoring with 115.4 points per game, 15th in AST/TO ratio with 1.7, and 11th in blocks with 5.1 per game.

The Suns are 8th in scoring with 115.5 points per game, 14th in rebounds with 43.2 per game, 1st in AST/TO ratio with 2.0, and 6th in blocked shots with 5.5 per game.

Our prediction for Monday, December 19th is…. Suns 130 - Lakers 99

A blowout from start to finish… Bet on the Suns.  Devin will have another big game against the Lakers undersized and unheralded guards… Chris Paul always gets up for a game against the Lakers and LeBron. It will be a track meet that the Lakers can not keep up with. Plus we should see the return of Deandre Ayton in limited minutes. We will NOT see C Anthony Davis who is listed OUT for a month with a foot problem… making this yet another season of ADs career where he simply will not play anywhere near a full season.  Expect the Lakers to drop in the standings without him.  Also expect the loudest basketball cheers to come from New Orleans since the Pelicans own the Laker spick this year… and it looks like a very expensive and valuable lottery pick.  In fact, if the Pelicans wanted to trade that pick they could land Toronto PF/C Pascal Siakam NOW… or they could wait and waste all our time.

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(will update)

Lakers: LeBron James.  What is he supposed to do?  He forced a trade for Anthony Davis… and his career will undoubtedly come to an ineffectual end while waiting for AD to return from the constant injury.

Suns:  PG Chris Paul.  The Hall Of Fame is assured for Chris, but he will have to get there without a Championship ring if he can not make this season the ONE.

Lakers: Darvin “Everyday is a new day” Ham

Suns: Monty “all class” Williams