The Los Angeles Lakers will continue to jockey for position in the upcoming Western Conference play-in tournament when they visit the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night. Los Angeles currently occupies the ninth spot in the West, lurking two games behind the Phoenix Suns and 1.5 games behind the Sacramento Kings.
It’s a different story for the Raptors, who are already eliminated from playoff contention. They are on a ridiculous 13-game losing streak that has them 28 games under .500 for the season at 23-51.
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Lakers -12.5 (-110)
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Under 230 (-110)
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Rui Hachimura Over 1.5 three-pointers made (-130)
Lakers, Raptors Going In Different Directions
The Lakers certainly haven’t been special in 2023-24 aside from winning the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament. LeBron James and company are just 42-33 and barring a miracle finish they won’t be able to avoid the play-in rounds of the Western Conference playoffs.
If there is some good news for Los Angeles, though, it’s that this team is picking up momentum just in time for those aforementioned playoffs. Head coach Darvin Ham’s club is 6-1 straight up in its last seven games, with wins during this stretch over Milwaukee (on the road) and Indiana (at home).
Meanwhile, Toronto has been nothing short of hopeless. It hasn’t won since March 3 and continues to deal with a litany of injuries. Combine a whole host of absences with the trade-deadline departures of Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby, and the result is one of the most anemic rosters in the entire NBA.
A word of caution when backing Lakers -12.5: this is the first leg of a back-to-back situation, preceding Wednesday’s date with the Washington Wizards. In a back-to-back last week, James sat out one game and Anthony Davis missed the other.
Depleted Raptors Lacking Offensive Firepower
RJ Barrett has not played since March 11; Immanuel Quickley has not played since March 17. Both players are expected to return on Tuesday, but if for some reason they don’t, the Raptors would be missing four starters. Gary Trent Jr. (rest) and Ochai Agbaji (hip) are sidelined.
Given that Toronto is already a shadow of its old self with Siakam and Anunoby having departed, it’s no surprise that this team is struggling to score. Head coach Darko Rajakovic’s crew has been held to 103 points or fewer in five of the last seven contests, including three with 96 or fewer.
Asking this game to produce more than 230 points seems like a stretch, especially if either James or Davis takes the night off for the Lakers.
Hachimura On A Hot Streak
Los Angeles forward Rui Hachimura heads into Tuesday’s tilt with a ton of confidence. The former Gonzaga standout is averaging a modest 13.2 points per game for the season, but his three most recent point totals are 32, 14 and 20.
Hachimura has been especially hot from three-point range. He has drained ten triples on 16 attempts over the past three outings, including a seven-for-eight effort from the land of plenty during a 136-124 victory over Memphis last Wednesday.
It is also worth noting that Toronto is horrendous at defending the three-ball. The Raptors are No. 26 in the NBA in three-point makes allowed per game at 13.5. Over the past three games they are dead last in that department at an outrageous 18.3.
RUI HACHIMURA OVER 1.5 THREE POINTERS MADE (-130)
