Lakers vs. Celtics Odds, Preview, and Prediction for Friday, November 19th

by Nick Galaida (nickgalaida) Last Updated 2021-11-19 19:19:24

Lakers vs. Celtics Odds

On Friday evening, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics will battle at the TD Garden. The Lakers have lost five of their last eight games, but are hopeful to return LeBron James to the floor this evening. Conversely, the Celtics have won five of their last eight contests, even without Jaylen Brown in the lineup for six of those matchups. Oddsmakers anticipate a tightly-contested affair in this prime time showdown, pricing the Celtics as two-point home favorites on the spread.

Let’s take a closer look at Lakers vs. Celtics odds and NBA betting tips for this Friday night matchup on ESPN.

Los Angeles Lakers (+2)

James has missed each of the last eight contests for the Lakers. In his absence, Los Angeles ranked 26th in the NBA with a -6.2 Net Rating. Offensively, the Lakers struggled mightily —ranking 27th in efficiency, shooting only 43.6 percent from the floor and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc. Defensively, Los Angeles was closer to league average, but still allowed an undesirable 107.2 points per 100 possessions.

Fortunately for Lakers fans, the return of James to the court should translate to a return to the upper-echelon in many of these important metrics. Los Angeles is nearly five points better per 100 possessions offensively with James on the floor, and nearly three-points per 100 possessions better defensively with their unquestioned leader healthy. Though the Lakers had struggled to begin the new campaign, there were signs of life shortly before James landed on the injured list, with Los Angeles having won each of the last four games in which James appeared.

As of 1:30 pm, James is officially listed as questionable for tonight’s action, with Head Coach Frank Vogel commenting that he will be a game-time decision. James’ status is obviously worth monitoring as tip-off approaches, considering the significant improvements he brings to this roster.

Boston Celtics (-2)

Boston has been without Jaylen Brown since November 4th, but have still managed to win three of their six games during that span. In those six contests, the Celtics rank 13th in Net Rating, 19th in offensive efficiency, and eighth in defensive efficiency. When Brown has been on the floor this fall, the Celtics have scored 107.8 points per 100 possession, but his real impact has been felt on the defensive end, where Boston is permitting only 100.2 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor. When Brown is off of the floor, the Celtics offensive efficiency plummets to 105.5 points per 100 possessions, and their defense suffers as well—surrendering 107.6 points per 100 possessions, per Cleaning the Glass.

Shortly before 1:00 pm, Brown was officially ruled out for this evening’s tilt against the Lakers. In his absence, Boston relies heavily on Jayson Tatum, Dennis Schroder, Al Horford, and Robert Williams to generate offense. Tatum has been tremendously inefficient with his opportunities this season, shooting just 39.3 percent from the floor during the month of November. Only once in Tatum’s last five games has Tatum shot better than 40.0 percent from the field. If James suits up tonight, Tatum is unlikely to find much space to work with against a tough Los Angeles defense, which could keep this contest relatively low-scoring.

Pick and Prediction

In the six games that Brown has missed for the Celtics, Boston’s games have totaled 211, 192, 216, 180, 190, and 209 in regulation. The Lakers could threaten to push this into a relatively high-scoring affair if James is ultimately ruled out. However, if LeBron sees the floor tonight, it is likely that an improved Los Angeles defense against an offensively-challenged Boston team will result in a relatively low-scoring contest. Check the injury reports as tip-off draws near, but the under could have a considerable amount of value in this one.

PICK: Under 215 (-110)

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