Brooklyn Nets vs Los Angeles Lakers Prediction, 2/18/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Brooklyn Nets vs Los Angeles Lakers

Date: Thursday, February 18, 2021

Location: STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, CA

TV: TNT

Odds/Point Spread: Brooklyn (+3)

STAPLES Center is the venue where and the Los Angeles Lakers (22-7) will play the Brooklyn Nets (18-12) on Thursday. The spread on this matchup has Los Angeles as 3-point favorites. The O/U is set at 230.

The Brooklyn Nets faced off with the Phoenix Suns and walked away with a win by a score of 128-124 in their last game. Brooklyn walked away from the contest with a 57.3% field goal percentage (47 out of 82) and knocked down 20 out of their 40 3-point shots. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Nets buried 14 of 15 attempts for a percentage of 93.3%. When discussing rebounding, they earned 37 with 4 of them being of the offensive sort. They also recorded 28 assists for the contest while getting 4 steals and 4 blocked shots. Regarding the defense, Brooklyn allowed their opponent to shoot 54.5% from the field on 48 of 88 shooting. Phoenix recorded 28 dimes and had 7 steals for this game. Additionally, the Suns pulled down 34 boards (4 offensive, 30 defensive) and added 3 blocks. Phoenix finished the contest at 100.0% when shooting free throws by converting 12 of their 12 attempts. They converted 16 out of their 37 attempts from beyond the arc.

James Harden is someone who was a factor in this matchup. He ended up with 38 points on 14 out of 22 shooting. He played 36:49 mins played and also snagged 7 rebounds. Harden shot 63.6% from the field and also distributed 11 dimes. One more player that was a major factor in this matchup for the Nets was Joe Harris. He collected 4 rebounds and had 2 dimes. He ended up shooting 61.5% from the field in this game by going 8-of-13 (22 points). When the game finished, Harris played 31:06 min.

Brooklyn will take the court with a mark of 18-12 this season. They have an average of 121.7 points per contest (1st in the NBA) while hitting 50.2% from the field. The Nets are connecting on 40.7% on three-point shots (453 of 1,112) and 82.4% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Brooklyn is collecting 43.9 rebounds per contest and has accumulated 815 dimes this season, which is 1st in the NBA in terms of passing. They turn it over 15.0 times per game and as a unit they are committing 19.4 personal fouls per contest. Defensively, the Nets have forced 12.3 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 19.3 personal fouls. The Nets defensively are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 46.8% (370 of 578) and they concede 42.9 boards per game as a group. They currently rank 29th in the NBA in giving up assists with 753 surrendered on the campaign. They give up 36.3% on three-point shots while they are 28th in basketball in PPG allowed (117.9).

The last time they took the court, the Los Angeles Lakers walked away with a victory by a final of 112-104 when they played the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Lakers recorded 32 defensive rebounds and 6 offensive boards totaling 38 for the game. They rejected 7 shots while earning 8 steals in this game. The Timberwolves were called for 27 personal fouls in the game which took the Lakers to the charity stripe for a total of 21 attempts. They were able to knock down 17 of the free throw attempts for a clip of 81.0%. In reference to shooting from distance, Los Angeles converted 11 out of 26 attempts (42.3%). In all, the Lakers finished shooting 42 for 77 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 54.5%. The Lakers permitted the Timberwolves to make 39 out of their 92 attempts from the floor which gave them a percentage of 42.4% in this contest. They went 47.1% from 3-point land by going 16 of 34 and finished the game at 10 out of 13 from the free throw line (76.9%). In regard to how they cleaned up the glass, Los Angeles permitted Minnesota to grab 38 in all (11 on the offensive glass).

LeBron James ended up being a major contributor for the Lakers for the matchup. He made 13 of 20 in this matchup for a field goal percentage of 65.0%, which gave him 30 points. James totaled 13 rebounds in his 37:53 mins of time on the court and earned 7 assists for this contest. Someone else that was important for Los Angeles was Dennis Schröder. He totaled 24 points in his 32:24 mins on the hardwood via 9 out of 15 from the floor for this contest. Schröder finished going 60.0% from the floor while also earning 3 dimes and 2 total rebounds.

Los Angeles has a win-loss record of 22-7 for the year. The Lakers commit 18.6 personal fouls per contest while shooting 75.0% from the charity stripe. They are getting an assist 24.9 times per contest (14th in basketball) and they are giving up possession 15.1 times per contest. Los Angeles has accounted for 3,273 pts on the year (112.9 per contest) and they average 45.5 boards per contest. On the offensive side of the court, the Lakers are connecting on 48.7% from the field, which ranks them 3rd in the league. The Lakers on the defensive side of the court are 2nd in the NBA in PPG surrendered with 105.8. The Los Angeles defense gives up 34.8% on shots from beyond the perimeter (328 of 943) and their opposition knocks down 76.9% of their foul shots. They give up 24.8 dimes and 41.5 boards on a nightly basis, which ranks 15th and 3rd in the NBA. They are forcing their opponents into 14.5 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 44.9% from the floor (5th in basketball).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Los Angeles (-3)

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