The Los Angeles Lakers (43-39, 23-18 home) look to knock out the Golden State Warriors (44-38, 11-30 away) in Game 6 of the Western Conference Playoff semifinals. Golden State kept its playoff hopes alive on Wednesday with a 121-106 victory at home over the Lakers.
Friday’s contest tips off at 10 p.m. EST inside the crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California. The Lakers are a 2.5-point favorite, and the over/under total is 221 points.
What to Know – Golden State Warriors
The Warriors stepped up in Game 5 to hold off on postseason elimination and defended their home floor. Golden State needs to win again Friday night in Los Angeles in an arena where the Warriors are 0-4 this season.
Through postseason play, the Warriors’ offense is averaging 114.1 points per game while shooting 45.4% from the field and 34.7% beyond the arc. On defense, Golden State surrenders 112.5 ppg, holding opponents to 44.5% shooting from the floor and 31.4% from the 3-point line.
Stephen Curry continues to lead the Warriors’ offense hitting 47.3% of his attempts from the field and averaging 30.3 ppg. Curry was the team’s leading scorer in Game 5 with 27 points. Klay Thompson (19.4 ppg) and Andrew Wiggins (17.6 ppg) are additional scoring outlets for Golden State.
Golden State owns a 44-49-1 record against the spread, with a 14-33 showing ATS on the road. The Warriors have failed to cover the spread in all but two of the last eight matchups against the Lakers.
What to Know – Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles will try again to move on to the Western Conference Finals on Friday night. The Lakers came into the playoffs as the seventh seed in the West but have emerged as one of the favorites to win the NBA Finals.
Offensively, the Lakers score 111.5 points per game thanks to a 46.6% shooting effort from the floor and 31.8% shooting from deep. The defense for Los Angeles allows 107.8 ppg, 42.6% shooting from the field and 34.1% from three.
The duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis have gotten the Lakers to where they are this postseason. James is leading the way averaging 22.8 ppg, while Davis is right behind him, adding 21.5 ppg. The two have combined to lead the team in scoring in all but three games during the playoffs.
The Lakers have a 47-45-2 record ATS this spread this year and a 26-20-1 mark ATS inside crypto.com Arena. Los Angeles is a perfect 5-0 ATS over its previous five contests at home.
The Pick is In
At this stage in the playoffs, you start to wonder about the health of a veteran like James who is listed as probable for Friday’s tilt with a sore foot. The 38-year-old should be good to go, and if he plays, we like the Lakers to continue the trend against the Warriors at home and knock them out of the playoffs.
The Pick: Los Angeles Lakers -2.5
