NBA 2022/23 season, Tuesday, 11/29/2022
While the World Cup is about to begin in Qatar, the NBA will see the Los Angeles Lakers take on the Indiana Pacers in a promising basketball game.
This game will be interesting because for the first time this season, the Californians will have all three superstars on the floor at the same time.
Accordingly, I am optimistic in my Lakers Pacers tip that the purple and gold winning streak will continue unabated!
Whether the Lakers work their magic or not usually depends on the situation in the team’s hospital. But currently – and at this point LAL fans will certainly knock on wood 3 times – most of the key players are back to full health.
Dennis Schröder’s recent recovery has been a real blessing for the purple and gold team’s play structure. This means that LeBron James, who is also fit again, can be used much more effectively.
The last performances, meanwhile, are something to be proud of! The first two games of the season, in which “The King” and the Brunswick player were on the floor together, were both won.
In the doubleheader against the Spurs, the Lakers first managed a 105:94 victory, which was followed by a closer, but also more spectacular 143:138 victory yesterday – and what kind of offence was that?
It was the duo of Lebron James (39) and Dennis Schröder (21), of all people, who scored the most points for Los Angeles. Admittedly, their own defence allowed too much, but that should be much better tonight.
Because to make the purple-gold luck perfect, Anthony Davis will in all likelihood be back on the floor against the Pacers. With him, the Californian basketball gear should now run even better – and in both directions.
But the Lakers’ upcoming opponent is anything but weak. After the Boston Celtics (9), only the Pacers have come close to winning as many games in the Eastern Conference during the last ten NBA game days (8).
While the Lakers scored 191 points against the Spurs the day before yesterday, Indiana surprised everyone with a 128-117 victory over the Nets – thanks to a strong final phase.
Normally it is Kevin Durand and Kyrie Irving – who is also called “Mr. 4 Quarter” – who are known for a significant increase in performance in the final period. However, these rangy Pacers didn’t let the two New York superstars get the better of them.
Without Davis, I would have still assumed a 50-50 affair in this duel. But with Anthony Davis on the floor, the scales should tip in the Californians’ favour – especially as one particular player always turns it up against this opponent …
We are talking about LeBron James, who scored 30 and 39 points respectively during his last two outings against the Pacers. Anthony Davis was absent in those two games due to injury.
However, the last time “The Brow” was serviceable in this pairing – which was in May 2021 – he ended up being the best player on the floor with 28 points.
Consequently, I think the concentrated offensive power coming from James and Davis will be a bit too much of a good thing for Indiana tonight.
Even the best sportsbooks when it comes to basketball seem to agree with my Lakers Pacers prediction.
Because the current betting odds on this game, which are currently available on the markets just as much as the odd sports betting bonus, favour a win for the purple and gold with odds averaging 1.58.
Conclusion: With LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Dennis Schröder in full force, the perfect storm is brewing in my eyes at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday to sweep the Pacers out of the stadium.
The Lakers started the season weak, but have since won five of their last six NBA games.
What’s more, LeBron James and Dennis Schröder did a wonderful job of setting each other up in their last appearance together at the weekend.
No question, if the purple and gold could always perform like this, even the NBA Finals would be a topic again – but bad luck will strike again sooner or later …
This time, however, my tip is: The Lakers beat the Pacers!
