NBA
Washington Wizards vs Los Angeles Lakers Preview: Odds, Tips and Prediction
Date: Tuesday 21st January 2025 Start time: 7:30 pm local time (3:30 am BST) Venue: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California Last meeting: April 3, 2024, Los Angeles Lakers 125-120 Washington Wizards The Los Angeles Lakers will host the Washington Wizards for a night of basketball at the Crypto.com Arena.
LeBron James//Getty Images
The Los Angeles Lakers will host the Washington Wizards for a night of basketball at the Crypto.com Arena. The Lakers are the sixth seed in the West and have the potential to rise further within the next week should they continue producing wins. The Southern Californian team face a Washington Wizards side who have lost nine games in a row. The Wizards are the only roster in the East to have single-digit wins, showcasing how difficult the season has been for the team based in D.C.
This preview delves deeper into both teams - with extensive information surrounding both roster’s form, and their recent and past head-to-head form. We share more about each team’s best players, and we discuss our valued bets before disclosing our predictions.
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Pre-Game Odds and Win Probability
Washington Wizards: 3/1 (4.00) - 25%
Los Angeles Lakers: 2/5 (1.40) - 71%
Forecast Odds – Betting available on Stake closer to event
Head-to-Head Record
The Washington Wizards and the Los Angeles Lakers will compete against each other for the first time in the 2024/25 NBA season. Both teams have contested a total of 202 regular season games, with their first game arriving in 1961. The Wizards have won 77 times, but the Lakers come out on top by winning a distant 125 times.
In their last five games, the record is in the Lakers’ favour, as Los Angeles have won four in a row. The Lakers may have the upper hand in recent times but have delivered the goods when it matters to get over the line.
Last Five Matches
| Season | Date | Result |
| 2023/24 Season | April 3, 2024 | Los Angeles Lakers 125-120 Washington Wizards |
| 2023/24 Season | February 29, 2024 | Los Angeles Lakers 134-131 Washington Wizards |
| 2022/23 Season | December 18, 2022 | Los Angeles Lakers 119-117 Washington Wizards |
| 2022/23 Season | December 4, 2022 | Los Angeles Lakers 130-119 Washington Wizards |
| 2021/22 Season | March 19, 2022 | Washington Wizards 127-119 Los Angeles Lakers |
How is the season so far for both teams?
Washington Wizards
- Record: 6-34
- Home Form: 5-18
- Road Form: 1-16
The Washington Wizards are still bottom of the Eastern Conference and have one of their last ten games. Irrespective of recent form, the Wizards look out of the running for the playoffs, altogether, with the organization looking bang in trouble at the bottom of the pile. The franchise needs a star player to complement the rest of the team.
Their best player is former first-round pick Jordan Poole. The 25-year-old is averaging 21.9 points per game, statistics that put him as the leader within their team. While being a standout leader within the team, his capabilities only put him 28th overall in the league for this season. Poole is shaking off a left hip contusion injury, but it doesn’t seem as serious as initially feared.
Alongside Poole is another first-round pick in the form of Frenchman Bilal Coulibaly, a 20-year-old from France. He is a key starter within the team and is averaging impressive numbers of 12.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists, showcasing his versatility and potential in the subsequent years to come. Coulibaly is the team’s fourth-highest scorer, showing the team is lacking in that department.
Los Angeles Lakers
- Record: 22-17
- Home Form: 14-6
- Road Form: 8-11
The Los Angeles Lakers are the sixth seed in the Western Conference and almost have a carbon copy record of their main rivals and the team above them, the Los Angeles Clippers. The Lakers appear to be gelling better this season after JJ Redick joined the team in the summer and have games in hand which the squad are hoping to make good use of.
Without question, the lead star in the roster despite turning 40 last month is LeBron James, who is posting 23.8 points per game. Superlatives aren’t enough to describe how James is playing at his age, and the only signs of regression are a relatively small decrease in points per game this season. He is posting 8.8 assists and 7.5 rebounds too, statistics that match his all-time averages.
With James still performing impressive numbers, his work with team-mate Anthony Davis makes the world of difference. Davis is the stat leader in points and rebounds per game, posting 25.8 points and 11.9 rebounds, ensuring that the Lakers are even stronger this season. Davis is closing in on the top ten spots in points per game, but his rebounding places him sixth overall in the league.
Value Bets
Anthony Davis: Over 30 Points and Over 10 Rebounds
Firstly, Anthony Davis must be mentioned, the 31-year-old has produced spellbinding numbers against the Wizards in his last five games. A monstrous average of 36.4 points and 13.6 rebounds has helped the Lakers win four of those games, and SportsBoom likes to think Davis has another performance like this in his locker.
LeBron James: Over 25 Points and Over 5 Assists
LeBron James will bolster the roster for this one, as the 40-year-old has a history of being undeniably rock solid against the Wizards. James has faced the Wizards on 58 occasions throughout his career, and he averages 27.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.4 assists, statistics that show his remarkable dependability when facing this team. Last season, James posted 25 and 31 points, and we expect this trend to continue as both franchises face off for the first time this season.
Prediction: Los Angeles Lakers to win
SportsBoom concludes the Los Angeles Lakers to win this matchup. Our reasons are due to how well Anthony Davis and LeBron James have played together against the Washington Wizards in recent years, believing the duo will be too strong for the Wizards’ defense. The head-to-head favours the Lakers and they will go into this match as the heavy favourites. The Lakers are favourites to win five games in a row against this struggling side. For online betting, this is a matchup worth considering when making your picks.
Henry Cheal is a versatile freelance sports journalist with extensive experience in the industry. Henry has previously worked at the 2024 World Snooker Championship and earned a Multimedia Sports Journalism degree from UCFB in 2023.
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