Daily Picks 12/15: Lakers Making The Pace

The San Antonio Spurs highlighted Saturday night with a 121-119 buzzer-beating overtime win  over the Phoenix Suns in Mexico City.

Tonight, LeBron James leads the Lakers into Atlanta as Los Angeles goes for a 14th consecutive road victory.

Here’s a look at today’s NBA picks:

BET OF THE DAY

Los Angeles Lakers (-11.5) @ Atlanta Hawks, 6:00 PM:

• The Lakers have a 52 ATS record against the Hawks in night games since 2016-17.
• Atlanta has a 58 W/L record at home against Los Angeles since 2013-14. Stat courtesy of Statschecker.

These teams met earlier this season in LA and the Lakers took care of business with ease, defeating the Hawks by 21 points. In that matchup, Atlanta’s top scorer Trae Young made 31 points and it still wasn’t nearly enough to keep up with the NBA’s top team.

The Lakers (23-3) won a sixth straight game after coming back to defeat the Miami Heat 113-110 last time out.

The duo of Anthony Davis and LeBron James took over posting double-doubles. Davis had a team-high 33 points with 10 rebounds, and James nearly had a triple-double with 28 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds.

Atlanta (6-20), on the other hand, lost a third consecutive game after falling at home to the Indiana Pacers 110-100.

Young was the Hawks’ offensive spark as usual, scoring a team-high 23 points with eight assists and seven rebounds.

As the Lakers’ long five-game road trip continues, the starting lineup is unsure as James is questionable with an elbow injury and Kyle Kuzma is listed as out. Yet as long as Davis is in the starting lineup, I’m riding the hot hand and taking Los Angeles to cover the spread (-11.5).

2u - Los Angeles Lakers (-11.5) @ -110

Sacramento Kings (-3) @ Golden State Warriors, 8:30 PM:

• The Warriors have a 26 ATS record against the Kings since 2017-18.
• Sacramento has a 1510 ATS record this season which is 7th best in the NBA. Stat courtesy of Statschecker.

The Kings and Warriors have had recent outings they’d like to forget as both lost to the dreadful New York Knicks at home over the last week. Sacramento lost narrowly 103-101, and the Warriors were edged out in overtime 124-122.

Sacramento (11-14) snapped a three-game winning streak after losing to New York by two points.

Buddy Hield led the way posting a double-double, knocking down six threes for a game-high 34 points, adding 12 rebounds and three assists.

Meanwhile, the Warriors (5-22) have lost three in a row following a 114-106 road loss to the Utah Jazz.

Alec Burks was one of the lone bright spots for Golden State scoring 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting with five rebounds and three assists.

Golden State and Sacramento both have been on a downward spiral, and it’s hard to pick a side in this matchup. Yet, the spread is low enough that I’ll roll with the overall better team in the Kings to cover (-3).

1u - Sacramento Kings (-3) @ -110

Charlotte Hornets (+11.5) @ Indiana Pacers, 5:00 PM

• The Pacers are 714 ATS against the Kings since 2013-14. Stats courtesy of Statschecker.

These teams met earlier this season in early November which resulted in the Hornets winning at home by two points.

Indiana (17-9) picked up a second straight win after taking down the Atlanta Hawks 110-100.

Malcolm Brogdon had himself a day nearly totaling a triple-double with 19 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds.

The Pacers have been strong at home this season with a (10-3) record at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Charlotte (12-16) has been on a roll, winning three consecutive games after defeating the Chicago Bulls on the road 83-73.

Devonte’ Graham continued to be the lead dog for the Hornets scoring 16 points with seven assists, five rebounds and three steals.

The Hornets have been one of my favorite underdog plays this season with an unpredictable (13-13-2) ATS record this season, and I’m sticking with them to cover the hefty (+11.5) spread on the road.

1u - Charlotte Hornets (+11.5) @ -110