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Catch another exciting NBA battle between the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers today at the Crypto.com Arena at 10 PM ET. The Warriors are on the Lakers’ heels in 5th place of the Western Conference table, so a win for them could be huge for leapfrogging their LA opponents tonight, while on the other hand, the Lakers will look to close the gap on 3rd place Denver Nuggets.
This one’s up in the air, so feel free to analyze our picks for the big game tonight and decide whether it’s something you want to fade or follow.
The Golden State Warriors are coming off an impressive victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday. The Warriors had a hard-fought month of March, and in their last eight games, they’ve suffered three losses, the first of which came against the 3rd place Denver Nuggets. For their next two games, they’d showcase a comfortable 104-93 victory against the Bucks before winning by just 3 points in a 117-114 matchup against the Raptors. Unfortunately for Golden State, both the Atlanta Hawks and Miami Heat would cut their success short with two consecutive losses, before their most recent three-game win streak (111-95 against the Pelicans, 148-106 against the Spurs, and 134-125 against the Grizzlies).
Stephen Curry had a spectacular game in his most recent showdown vs the Grizzlies, with a whopping 52 points and 10 rebounds for the team. Currently, he leads the way in point scoring for the Warriors with an average of 32.1 minutes played per game with an average of 24.4 points scored per game along with 6.1 assists on average. While Curry is the only consistent point scorer on the team, Kevin Looney and Draymond Green have put up 6.2 rebounds per game on average to help retain the ball.
If Steph Curry can find himself with as many shooting opportunities as last game from outside the paint, this game could lay in the hands of the Warriors, and we fully expect him to hit another 26+ points.
The Lakers are also coming off a solid 104-98 win against the Rockets, although they suffered four losses in their previous eight games, yet remain in 4th place above the Warriors. Starting March 19, the Lakers beat the Nuggets 120-108 before getting destroyed 118-89 in their next game against the Bucks. This would start a three-game losing streak for Los Angeles, losing 146-115 against the Bulls before suffering another 118-106 loss to Orlando. They would bounce back on March 26th with a narrow 120-119 win over the Pacers before stumbling in a 119-117 defeat to the Chicago Bulls.
Lebron James only put up 16 points (8 rebounds) in his last game against the Rockets, although he’s averaging 24.4 points a game, like Curry. Luka Doncic, while still getting adjusted to the Lakers, put up 20 points, 9 assists and 6 rebounds against Houston and will most definitely be a player the Warriors need to watch out for. Austin Reeves is another player to watch out for on the Lakers offense, with 19.9 points scored per game, so the Lakers have plenty of offensive firepower to come out victorious in this one.
When it comes down to it, the Lakers have a spectacular roster, especially with the addition of Luka Doncic. With the combined effort of James and Doncic, rebounds shouldn’t be a problem for the Lakers, so this matchup will most likely come down to shooting ability.
With Steph Curry performing to the best of his ability, especially with 52 points in his last game, this game could be as good as done in favor of the Warriors if he starts heating up. The Lakers may have a slightly better selection of personnel, so even if they manage to pull out the win, we still think Steph Curry will have a field day.
Liam has been a major sports fan and soccer player for over a decade, with a particular focus on major top-level soccer leagues, including the EPL, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and MLS. He has written numerous promotional articles for various top sportsbooks and continues to publish historical and factual sports articles covering the NFL, MLS, NHL, MLB, EPL and more.