Trail Blazers vs Lakers

NBA odds, picks, and predictions for the Portland Trail Blazers at Los Angeles Lakers on October 23. NBA betting best bet and free pick analysis.

Oddsmakers opened the line for the O/U at 223.5 and has since risen to anywhere between 225.5 and 226. That's more than enough evidence for me to feel confident in taking the Under today. An excellent reason for that is a combination of Lillard, James, and Davis missing games, drastically changing their team's entire outlook. LosAngeles will win, but Portland will cover the spread in a close one. After much of a hiatus last season, the 32-year-old flamethrower is back, and that was clear in the Phoenix game where he scored 41 points. Any defensive woes against a sleeper Portland team can send the Lakers to an ugly 0-3 start. This season shouldn’t be any different regarding James' ability to score the ball against a team with many significant question marks. James was dominant in two matchups against the Trailblazers last season, including a 30 and 43-point outing. Thursday night wasn't bad either, with James scoring 20 points against a powerful pair of defenders in Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. The Los Angeles Lakers might fit the bill of a team facing a near must-win situation today against the Portland Trail Blazers. Lakers believe we can be in for big performances out of LeBron James in a relatively low-scoring affair at Crypto.com Arena. We are in rare air regarding the self-proclaimed "King" and his Iron Man reputation.

Visit ESPN for the game recap of the Portland Trail Blazers vs. Los Angeles Lakers NBA basketball game on October 23, 2022.

James has scored at least 10 points in 1,099 consecutive games since January 2007, and he remains on track to surpass [Kareem Abdul-Jabbar](http://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/4145/kareem-abdul-jabbar) as the top scorer in league history this winter. After [Anfernee Simons](http://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/4351851/anfernee-simons) hit a leaning layup over [Anthony Davis](http://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/6583/anthony-davis) with 36 seconds left to trim Portland’s deficit to 102-101, Westbrook curiously shot and missed a 15-footer with 27 seconds to play and about 16 seconds left on the shot clock, capping his 4-for-15 day from the field. Los Angeles finished 6 for 33 on 3-pointers against Portland, falling to 25 for 118 (21.2%) this season. And Dame was Dame down the stretch.” Lonnie Walker scored 15 points and Westbrook had 10 for Los Angeles. Westbrook missed both of his fourth-quarter shots. “We were getting some of the same shots (down the stretch) we were getting (earlier),” James said. Grant, who finished with 16 points, drove and scored the tiebreaking bucket. (Westbrook) got some good looks and wasn't able to knock them down. Lillard carried the Blazers for long stretches, scoring 12 points in the final 5:06 before Grant finished it. [Patrick Beverley](http://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/3964/patrick-beverley), James and [Russell Westbrook](http://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/3468/russell-westbrook) all missed shots for LA down the stretch. After missing the final 47 games last season with injuries, Lillard has scored 41 points in Portland's second and third games of the new season.

We go over some of the best betting options for Sunday's matchup between the Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Lakers.

Portland is averaging 114.0 PPG to start the season while the Lakers rank last in the league with an average of 103.0 PPG. Despite double-digit scoring averages from LeBron James and Anthony Davis through two games, Los Angeles will need support from the rest of the roster to notch their first win of the season. The Trail Blazers are not a high-powered offense with the ability to blowout their opponents, and Los Angeles’ lack of a scoring punch is no secret. Los Angeles is being outscored by 10.0 points on average through two games, while Portland boasts a +4.5 scoring margin. The Trail Blazers are 2-0 against the spread while the Lakers are 0-2 in the same time span, and the former has the scoring talent to keep this game a closely contested affair. [Portland Trail Blazers](https://www.blazersedge.com) (2-0) will look to remain undefeated to start the season as they travel to face the [Los Angeles Lakers](https://www.silverscreenandroll.com) (0-2) on Sunday, October 23.