Lakers vs. Suns Odds: Game 5 Preview, Picks, & Predictions
The night begins with Celtics vs. Nets and ends with the Lakers vs. Suns. With the series tied 2-2 and Anthony Davis sidelined, there’s a little more at stake for LeBron James. Will James and the Lakers feel the heat from the Suns Tuesday night? Sloan Piva is here to break down the betting odds, picks, and predictions for Game 5 in Phoenix.
NBA Picks: Lakers vs. Suns Odds Update
- GM 5 Moneyline: 67% of the moneyline betting handle has come in on the Phoenix Suns, per Scores And Odds. Moneyline bettors are siding with LeBron James as an underdog, getting +175 on the Lakers at William Hill. Look below for our odds comparison tool, which will help you find the best NBA prices across online sportsbooks.
- GM 5 Spread: The Lakers-Suns spread only moved a half-point after opening Suns -4.5. Both teams are receiving a good amount of action, with the Lakers edging out the Suns slightly (55-45).
- GM 5 Over/Under: Sportsbooks are also seeing two-way action when it comes to the point total. With four hours until tip-off, the Over/Under is split 50-50 — just how the oddsmakers like it.
- NBA Props (Over/Under): Anthony Davis is OUT. The next man up? Andre Drummond. Drummond’s rebounding prop has increased to 10.5, and his points prop is 11.5. LeBron James points prop is 28.5, making him the highest projected scorer in the game, with Devin Booker following closely behind at 27.5 points.
Continue reading our Lakers vs. Suns Game 5 preview, breaking down basketball odds, picks, predictions, and our favorite betting promos at online sportsbooks.
Lakers vs. Suns Odds
| Lakers Odds | +5 |
| Suns Odds | -5 |
| Moneyline | +175/-200 |
| Over/Under | 207.5 |
| Time | 10:00 p.m. ET |
| TV | TNT |
All NBA Odds referenced are courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook and accurate as of 6 AM ET, Tuesday, June 1, 2021.
Lakers vs. Suns Game 5 Preview: Davis OUT
Playoff basketball can be a fickle beast. Oftentimes, the teams that advance are the teams that not only get hot at the right time, but that enjoy the best health. The defending-champion Lakers battled injuries all year, but finished the regular season and play-in tournament on a tear. They proceeded to win two of the first three games in their round-one series against the No. 2 seed Suns. But then, injuries reared their ugly head again.
Anthony Davis strained his groin during LA’s 100-92 Game 4 loss to Phoenix, leaving LeBron James as the Lakers’ lone star in a crucial Game 5 on the road. In LA’s two wins in Game 2 and Game 3, AD posted 34 points and double-digit rebounds. In the Lakers’ two losses, he failed to exceed 13 points or seven rebounds.
AD will have zero points, zero rebounds, and zero impact as a playmaker or defender Tuesday. It’s a huge loss for a Lakers team that has often struggled to contain opposing bigs while their superstars are off the floor. Young Suns center Deandre Ayton has flashed brilliant stretches that reinforce why Phoenix took him No. 1 in the 2018 NBA Draft, a move that will forever confound basketball fans and cement Ayton as ‘the dude who got picked ahead of Luka Doncic and Trae Young.
But a motivated Ayton just works for the Suns, who have been one of the best all-around teams in the sport this season. Coach Monty Williams has been brilliant, and the impact and veteran leadership of offseason acquisition Chris Paul has been unparalleled. Devin Booker, no longer needed to do everything every offensive possession, now enjoys the fruits of Paul’s playmaking, as well as superb floor spacing.
Phoenix has been everything LA has not been this season. It’s got depth, while the Lakers are top-heavy. It has impact three-and-D guys like Jae Crowder and Mikal Bridges, while LA has struggled defensively and downright sucked from long distance.
The Suns finished the regular season with a 28-10 record at home this season, tied with Milwaukee for the fourth-best home winning percentage in the NBA. They were 53-23 straight up, 44-30-2 against the spread, and 24-14 against the spread at home. All three of those records ranked second-best in the NBA. Now they get a Brow-less Lakers squad that limped into the playoffs via a play-in tournament, and lost both regular-season games against the Suns in which it didn’t have AD.
The absence of Davis would not be as magnified if LA had better big-man depth behind him. Midseason buyout Andre Drummond has been sensational as always on the boards, but his defense has been subpar. Montrezl Harrell has taken a giant step back from his impact-filled days as a Clipper and Sixth Man of the Year. Marc Gasol is old, slow, and a shell of his former All-NBA/All-Defensive self.
Lakers vs. Suns Predictions
For all of these reasons, AD’s injury might very well turn Ayton into the x-factor in the remaining games of this series. LA went 19-17 without AD this season, and a whopping 14 of those losses came against playoff teams. That’s called a top-heavy squad being overmatched by quality opponents when it loses its second-best player.
Kyle Kuzma has been inconsistent when coach Frank Vogel has turned to him as a second or third scorer behind LeBron. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, a key three-and-D guy for LA, is questionable with a knee injury that held him out of Game 4. Dennis Shroder had a crucial missed layup late in Game 4, which left LeBron’s head hung in disgust. This is not a Finals contender—it’s a team in a six-month championship hangover.
I’m all-in on the Suns today. Take your pick—if you’re never comfortable betting on LA to lose by more than five points, the -200 moneyline still yields plenty of value. If Phoenix is going to take this series—or even just extend it to six or seven games—it has to capitalize on the Lakers’ humongous void left by AD.
The fact that the Lakers are only five-point underdogs is yet another testament to the greatness of LeBron James. All signs point to the Suns winning this game handily—in their two meetings with LA when the Lakers were sans Brow, they beat LA by 17 points and 10 points, respectively. But oddsmakers know full well that King James can take over the court all by his lonesome, as he has done so often in the past.
Personally, I think Phoenix takes this game by 10, and then LA storms back to win Game 6. Hey, we’ve got to get at least one seven-game series in Round 1, right?
FINAL SCORE PREDICTION: 110-100
Lakers-Suns Pick: Suns -5
Lakers vs. Suns Picks
Schmitto’s ATS Pick: Let’s face it, to the shock of many NBA bettors and fans, the Phoenix Suns have looked like the better team so far in the NBA Playoffs. That’s right. Chris Paul, Devin Booker, and DeAndre Ayton have outperformed the defending NBA champions and LeBron James. Now the Lakers will have to play a full game without big man Anthony Davis. That could spell trouble for the King. As my colleague, Sloan Piva, points out above, the Suns have plenty of depth, play great at home, and got the best of the Lakers in the two regular-season outings played without Davis. In fact, the Suns dominated the spread when playing in the comfort of Phoenix Suns Arena this season, going 23-13 ATS. The betting market has obviously caught wind of the Suns’ talent, hence why we see them entering Game 5 as 5-point favorites across the sports betting industry.
I’m bullish on the Suns’ chances to upset the Lakers in this series, and, like Sloan, I even like them to cover the spread Tuesday night. The Suns aren’t going to let off the gas just because Davis is out. This team is hungry for a victory, and Paul knows exactly what to do to rally the troops to defeat his good friend LeBron. I like this bet up to Phoenix -5. If it moves another half-point or more, then I’d stay away.
Lakers vs. Suns Game 5 Pick: Suns -5 at BetMGM
Image Credit: Imagn