LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and the Lakers need a win on Tuesday night, after Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves dealt the first blow in their opening-round playoff series. Needless to say, hoops fans could be in for some fireworks.
The Sporting News has you covered with the latest odds for this marquee matchup. We'll also hand-pick the best NBA bets tonight, including our moneyline pick and the top player props from BetMGM.
Let's get right to it. Here are the odds for Lakers vs. Wolves at Crypto.com Arena, as well as our final score prediction and full betting recommendations.
Lakers vs. Wolves: Spread, moneyline, over/under
All odds and props are from BetMGM, an authorized gaming operator of the NBA.
- ATS: Lakers -5.5 (-110) | Wolves +5.5 (-110)
- Moneyline: Lakers -225 | Wolves +185
- Over/under: O 211.5 (-110) | U 211.5 (-110)
Oddsmakers clearly like the Lakers to rebound from the 117-95 spanking the Wolves handed them in Game 1 over the weekend. It was the first time Los Angeles had lost at home to Minnesota in over a year. LA is now 31-11 at Crypto.com Arena since the 2024-25 NBA season began.
Lakers vs. Wolves best bets and final score prediction
LeBron James is 36 victories away from becoming the winningest player in NBA history. If he enjoyed a little more success in playoff Game 1s, he might be even closer. As Sporting News writer Dan Treacy pointed out Sunday, the modern GOAT has gone just 32-24 in series-openers throughout his career. That's not great, at least for one of the two greatest players of all time.
However, it's also not the full picture. Bron has gone a dominant 41-14 over the 55 playoff series he has participated in during his 21-year run. That's a .745 winning percentage, for those who don't have their calculator app handy. So, as the always-eloquent Aaron Rodgers once said, "R-E-L-A-X."
Sportsbooks know the deal. A Game 1 disappointment by a LeBron team is often followed by a Game 2 victory. In fact, he's 13-6 over his past 19 Game 2s that have immediately followed a Game 1 loss. And with an intelligent copilot like Luka Doncic — not to mention a cerebral head coach like J.J. Redick — the Lakers should have a solid plan of attack set for Tuesday.
It's also hard to fathom the Wolves shooting anywhere near as well as they did in Game 1. Minnesota shot a blistering 21-of-42 from three-point land, getting 18 more points than its per-game average from the three-ball. That NBA Jam-level fire stretch ignited a 73-50 Wolves run in the middle quarters, from which LA never recovered.
Look for Los Angeles to go back to the drawing board and focus on getting stops and clearing rebounds on Tuesday evening. And on offense, Luka and LeBron should hit Minnesota with plenty of high screen-and-rolls to capitalize on Rudy Gobert and Julius Randle's deficient perimeter defense. If Redick starts to utilize Jaxson Hayes on the roll, it's about to be LeBron James winning time — you can almost smell it in the postseason air.
FINAL SCORE PREDICTION: Lakers 111, Wolves 104 — The Lakers win and cover (-5.5), while the score goes just OVER the projected total of 211.5.
Lakers vs. Wolves top player prop bet
Jaxson Hayes, C, Lakers: OVER 3.5 points (-130)
Hayes was critically underutilized in Game 1, finishing with just three points in eight minutes. Redick tried to go with a small-ball approach, but the results were disastrous as it allowed Minnesota to expose Luka Doncic's defensive deficiencies and turned the foursome of Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Naz Reid and Julius Randle into killers.
Hayes should see more PT in Game 2, as the Lakers need his shot-blocking as well as his rim-running. If Luka and LeBron get the high screen-and-roll working, Hayes will be one of the top beneficiaries. Don't worry about the juice on the OVER, here — it's a slam dunk.
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