NBA 2022/23, Thursday, 10.11.2022
Since the Lakers both moved to the City of Angels from Minneapolis in 1960 and the Clippers from San Diego in 1984, the “Battle of L.A.” has been one of the most exciting basketball rivalries league-wide.
In my Clippers Lakers tip, however, I make note that I won’t bother sweeping my purple and gold jersey out of the closet to cheer on my favourites. Because Lob City will win the rematch – as they did a few weeks ago.
I haven’t gotten around to watching every single game of my beloved Lakers this season besides the exciting NFL tips and the soon-to-be 2022 World Cup, but what I’ve seen so far is enough for now.
Incidentally, it was clear from the start that the “secret recipe” of the purple and gold – namely to build a team around their two top performers Anthony Davis and LeBron James – was doomed to failure.
Especially since Los Angeles has already lost eight of its first ten NBA games of the new season and – you guessed it – LeBron James is injured again, this time to his left ankle.
The city derby against the Clippers couldn’t come at a worse time. Because already in the last season appearance against the Jazz – which Utah won by the way with 139:116 – many regular players were missing for the purple and gold.
LeBron James, Lonnie Walker IV and Patrick Beverley all had to sit out last Tuesday! Now I expect that against Lob City possibly one, at most two of these players will return.
However, the purple and gold would need all three players to make this match even “exciting”. The Clippers already won the first duel of the season about three weeks ago – even though all of the Lakers’ key players were still in good health at that time.
The Clippers won 103-97 on 21 October, with the now-injured and aforementioned Lakers trio of James, Walker and Beverly scoring 51 of their team’s 97 points that night.
Now Lob City is also behind its expectations, although not as much as its city rival. After all, the Clippers have a positive record of (6-5) after their win over the Cavaliers.
What also convinces me that the rematch of the Battle of Los Angeles will end with a fiasco for the purple and gold has to do with the fact that their own domestic saga seems to be crooked.
LeBron is taunting his teammate Anthony Davis, from whom he demands more performance – but at the same time, the Lakers’ problem is much more complex than an admittedly mediocre “AD”.
Los Angeles hardly creates any quality chances, misses the few good shots and can’t even really assert themselves on the board in terms of rebounds anymore.
Rebounds were already decisive in the last city duel. The Clippers won the battle for the free ball very clearly with 58 to 38.
I won’t tire of mentioning that the Lakers were also disappointing in this respect that night, although they were at least able to field their best line-up.
But if that didn’t translate into a win over Lob City then, it’s hard to see how the odds would be any better this time around.
With a look at the Clippers Lakers odds, the betting enthusiast has an ideal opportunity to place an interesting win bet on Lob City.
The sports betting providers have not failed to notice that the Clippers are the favourites, but the betting odds of around 1.50 for a win have been very generous compared to the actual distribution of the odds.
One should not forget that the Lakers have already lost five of the last six head-to-head meetings.
Conclusion: I strongly expect LeBron James to need at least one more game to be ready for action – I also don’t expect Lonnie Walker IV to be back in the starting five tonight.
However, should both players somehow be able to play, the general condition of the Lakers means that they are not expected to have a game-changing influence on the outcome of the game.
Lob City, after all, already did an extremely good job on the board in their last duel. The fact that the Clippers have already won five of the last six editions of the Battle of L.A. also speaks for itself!
My Clippers Lakers tip: Lob City also wins the rematch!
