The Los Angeles Lakers will try to wrap up their Western Conference first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets when Game 5 takes place at Crypto.com Arena in L.A. on Wednesday night. Los Angeles had a chance to sweep this past Sunday in Houston, but the Rockets stayed alive by prevailing 115-96.
Let’s dive into my Rockets vs. Lakers Game 5 prediction.
Houston Rockets vs. Los Angeles Lakers odds
Money line: Rockets +150 / Lakers -180
Spread: Rockets +4 (-105) / Lakers -4 (-115)
Total: Over 208.5 (-110) / Under 208.5 (-110)
Houston Rockets vs. Los Angeles Lakers best bet: Lakers -4 (-115)
Despite losing on the road last weekend, Los Angeles has clearly been the superior squad in this series. Additionally, L.A. appears to be in a better spot on the infirmary report compared to Houston. Neither team, of course, is anywhere close to 100 percent. The Lakers have been playing without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves; the Rockets have missed Kevin Durant in three of the four games so far in this series. Reaves is likely to return from his oblique injury on Wednesday; Durant, however, is once again expected to be sidelined. Advantage: Lakers.
With or without Doncic and Reaves, Los Angeles has proven that it can get the job done against Houston — especially taking Durant’s absence into account. There is no denying that LeBron James and company probably should have lost Game 3, in which they trailed by six with less than 30 seconds left before winning in overtime, but also don’t forget that they won Game 1 and Game 2 at home in relatively routine fashion. Although LeBron was not much of a factor during Sunday’s setback, he scored 28 and 29 points in Game 2 and Game 3, respectively. The 41-year-old can still put his team on his back when some of his sidekicks are missing. Count on the Rockets’ season ending in L.A.
Los Angeles is 6-1 against the spread in its last seven games and 8-2 ATS in the last 10 meetings between these two teams. Houston is 2-4 ATS in its last six overall.