In the battle of professional basketball supremacy in Los Angeles, the Clippers defeated the Lakers on Wednesday night by 14 points. The Lakers slipped to 2-9 on the season, but they re way more concerned with the health of LeBron James, who exited the game in the fourth quarter with a groin injury.
Forward Marcus Morris, Sr. (8) from the Los Angeles Clippers defends LeBron James from the Lakers at Crypto.com Arena. James would later leave the game with a groin injury. (Image: Getty)James will undergo an MRI on Thursday to gauge the severity of the injury, but he doesn t think it s as bad as a previous groin malady. During his first season with the Lakers in 2018-19, James missed 17 games after he partially tore his groin during a game on Christmas.
After a troubling 0-5 start this season, the Lakers bounced back with consecutive victories against the Denver Nuggets and New Orleans Pelicans. Since they edged out the Pelicans in overtime last Wednesday, the Lakers lost four games in a row by an average margin of 16 points.
Only the Houston Rockets at 2-10 have a worse record than the Lakers in the Western Conference. Bettors have been fading the Lakers for a profit. The Lakers are 2-9 against the spread and share the worst against the spread (ATS) record in the NBA with the Miami Heat.
The Lakers were +1800 odds to win the NBA championship during the preseason. After their horrible start, the Lakers saw their title odds gradually weaken to +7000 odds at DraftKings.
Clippers Win Battle of LAPaul George scored 29 points for the Clippers and led a well-balanced scoring attack, with all five starters reaching double digits against the Lakers. The combo of Norman Powell and John Wall combined for 28 points and nine assists off the bench.
Wall sparked a 16-4 run at the end of the third quarter to quell a Lakers surge.
We re starting to figure out, and come into our own, George told the LA Times. Basketball looks good for the Clippers right now.
The Clippers won five out of their last six games and improved to 7-5 on the season. They re now in seventh place in the Western Conference playoff standings.
The Clippers were a popular preseason pick to win the 2023 NBA championship. But All-Star and former MVP Kawhi Leonard has only appeared in two games this season. The indefinitely after he returned to action too soon. Leonard missed the entire 2021-22 season after he blew out his ACL in the 2021 NBA playoffs.
