NBA on ESPN: Wall and Wizards Look to Stay Perfect Against Lakers

Will the Wall and Ball Sideshow Derail the Wizards

The Washington Wizards and the Los Angeles Lakers will on Wednesday at the Staples Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 10:30 pm. ESPN will telecast the game as its second game of its Wednesday night NBA Package.

Why can't we all be lucky enough to have all NBA games on TNT?

Oddsmakers opened the Wizards as -6.5-point favorites versus the Lakers, while the game's total opened at 229. The line has dropped to Washington as a -5.5-point favorite. The total has edged down to 228.5.

Lavar Ball can't help but run his mouth and make things harder than they have to be for his son, Lonzo Ball. Here is part of a story from CBS Sports about tonight's game.

After the Lakers lost to the Pelicans on Sunday, LaVar Ball said that the Wizards "better beware" because his son, Lonzo Ball, wasn't going to lose again in the same week. Wizards center Marcin Gortat promptly responded on Twitter with several laughing emojis and a stern warning for Lonzo.

Wall retorted from CBS Sports As well:

On Tuesday, Wall responded to LaVar's comments and discussed his mindset for his matchup with Lonzo. Via Candace Bruckner of the Washington Post:

"Nah, no mercy," Wall responded when asked if he would show leniency to the 19-year-old rookie point guard despite his braggadocious father.

Lakers Look to Even Record Against Tough Wizards

Los Angeles was a 119-112 loser in its last match at home against the New Orleans Pelicans. They failed to cover the +4.5-point spread as underdogs, while the total score of 231 sent OVER bettors to the payout window.

The Lakers trailed by 20 points late in the third quarter on Sunday. This prompted coach Luke Walton to try a new combination of Jordan Clarkson, Julius Randle, Josh Hart, Kyle Kuzma and Brandon Ingram. The 5-man lineup worked well together and closed the gap. The Lakers moved ahead by five points midway through the fourth quarter.

The Pelicans went on an 11-0 run that put them back on top in the 119-112 victory.

Clarkson scored a team-high 24 points off the bench. He put up 18 and 17 points in the first two games of the season. He's shooting 51.1 percent from the field as well. He has been drilling them from 3-point distance. He is 7-for-14 from behind the arc.

Lonzo Ball hasn't shot the ball well in his first three games. He's putting up some good overall numbers. He is averaging 13.3 points, 9.3 rebounds and 8.7 assists.

Ball went up against one of the NBA's best backcourt defenders in Patrick Beverley of the Los Angeles Clippers in the season opener. He'll face another tough matchup against John Wall of the Wizards. Wall led the NBA with 157 steals last season. He led all point guards with 49 blocked shots.

 

Wizards Look for First 4-0 Start Since 1978

Washington won its last outing, a 109-104 result against the Denver Nuggets on October 23. The Wizards covered in that game as a +5-point underdog, while the 213 combined points took the game UNDER the total.

The Wizards opened their four-game road trip with a victory in Denver on Monday. It marks only their fourth 3-0 start in franchise history. It is their first since 2005. Washington started 0-3 last season. The Wizards are the last unbeaten team in the Eastern Conference for the first time since 1974.

The Washington Wizards will try for their first 4-0 start since 1978.

Recent Form

Name	Record	ATS	Offense	Defense	Diff	ATS Home	ATS Away	OU Record	OU Home	OU Away
Washington	3-0	1-2	114.67	110.00	4.67	0-2	1-0	2-1	2-0	0-1
LA Lakers	1-2	1-2	112.00	119.00	-7	0-2	1-0	2-1	1-1	1-0

Power Stats

Assists Turnovers
Name	Assists	Turnovers	Ratio
WAS	23.33	12.67	1.84
LAL	23.33	18.33	1.27

Rebounding
Name	Offense	Defense	Total
WAS	11.00	30.67	41.67
LAL	8.67	35.33	44

ShootingPercentage
Name	Offense	Defense	Differential
WAS	46.85	48.64	-1.79
LAL	46.91	47.52	-0.61

Team Records

Washington Wizards

Name	Record	Home	Away	ATS	ATS Home	ATS Away	Offense	Defense	Diff
Overall	3-0	2-0	1-0	1-2	0-2	1-0	114.67	110.00	4.67
Last 10	3-0	2-0	1-0	1-2	0-2	1-0	114.67	110.00	4.67
vs Div	0-0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0.00	0.00	0.00
vs EAST	2-0	2-0	0-0	0-2	0-2	0-0	117.50	113.00	4.50
vs WEST	1-0	0-0	1-0	1-0	0-0	1-0	109.00	104.00	5.00

Los Angeles Lakers

Name	Record	Home	Away	ATS	ATS Home	ATS Away	Offense	Defense	Diff
Overall	1-2	0-2	1-0	1-2	0-2	1-0	112.00	119.00	-7.00
Last 10	1-2	0-2	1-0	1-2	0-2	1-0	112.00	119.00	-7.00
vs Div	1-1	0-1	1-0	1-1	0-1	1-0	112.00	119.00	-7.00
vs EAST	0-0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0.00	0.00	0.00
vs WEST	1-2	0-2	1-0	1-2	0-2	1-0	112.00	119.00	-7.00

Supergrid

Title	Stat	Rank	Stat	Rank
Away Team Overall Scoring vs Home Team Overall Defense	114.67	7	119.00	28
Away Team Away Scoring vs Home Team Home Defense	109.00	10	113.50	23
Away Team Road Rebounds vs Home Team Home Rebounds Allowed	38.00	24	50.50	25
Home Team Overall Scoring vs Away Team Overall Defense	112.00	9	110.00	23
Home Team Home Scoring vs Away Team Road Defense	102.00	17	104.00	13
Home Team Home Rebounds vs Away Team Road Rebounds Allowed	45.00	14	44.00	13

Head To Head Summary

Team	record	ATS	O/U	AVG	AVG ½	FG%	REB	3PT	steals
Washington	8-2	6-4	6-4	108.10	52.90	45.14	42.90	91/262	9.00
LA Lakers	2-8	4-6	6-4	101.90	52.70	48.48	44.60	77/225	9.80

Head To Head Detail

Date	Away	away score	Home	home score	line	ATS	Total	O/U	FG% Edge	Reb Edge	3PT Edge	Away Half Score	Home Half Score	Away FG%	Home FG%	Away Rebounds	Home Rebounds	Away Three Pointers	Home Three Pointers	Away Steals	Home Steals
Mar 28, 2017	WAS	119	LAL	108	9	WAS	225.5	O	WAS	LAL	LAL	55	58	51.1	50.6	41	43	6/23	8/22	12	6
Feb 2, 2017	LAL	108	WAS	116	-10.5	LAL	219.5	O	LAL	LAL	Push	44	58	46	45.8	47	45	12/39	12/33	6	11
Mar 27, 2016	WAS	101	LAL	88	9	WAS	213.5	U	WAS	Push	Push	50	44	54.2	37.9	42	42	7/20	7/28	12	12
Dec 2, 2015	LAL	108	WAS	104	-10	LAL	204	O	WAS	LAL	LAL	57	51	42.7	46.8	45	41	8/25	7/21	18	11
Jan 27, 2015	WAS	98	LAL	92	9	LAL	193.5	U	WAS	WAS	LAL	46	57	48.7	42.5	51	38	4/16	5/20	8	9
Dec 3, 2014	LAL	95	WAS	111	-8.5	WAS	208.5	U	WAS	WAS	LAL	52	54	38.8	48.4	43	53	12/29	6/19	8	6
Mar 21, 2014	WAS	117	LAL	107	4.5	WAS	219	O	WAS	Push	WAS	58	47	48.3	47.3	44	44	10/25	7/19	9	12
Nov 26, 2013	LAL	111	WAS	116	-5.5	LAL	198.5	O	LAL	WAS	LAL	55	59	53	52.9	34	42	13/28	6/21	4	15
Mar 22, 2013	WAS	103	LAL	100	-9	WAS	198.5	O	LAL	LAL	Push	41	57	46	48.1	39	48	11/26	11/23	8	5
Dec 14, 2012	LAL	102	WAS	96	6.5	WAS	200	U	LAL	WAS	Push	58	55	45.1	43.4	45	48	8/29	8/21	10	6

NBA Betting Trends

Washington Wizards
Washington is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games
Washington is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Washington's last 11 games
Washington is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Washington is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Washington's last 6 games on the road
Washington is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games when playing LA Lakers
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Washington's last 9 games when playing LA Lakers
Washington is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games when playing on the road against LA Lakers
Washington is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against LA Lakers
Washington is 7-15 SU in its last 22 games when playing on the road against LA Lakers
The total has gone OVER in 11 of Washington's last 15 games when playing on the road against LA Lakers

Los Angeles Lakers
LA Lakers is 7-3 ATS in its last 10 games
LA Lakers is 6-3 SU in its last 9 games
LA Lakers is 8-17 SU in its last 25 games
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of LA Lakers's last 8 games
LA Lakers is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games at home
LA Lakers is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games at home
LA Lakers is 5-13 SU in its last 18 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of LA Lakers's last 5 games at home
LA Lakers is 1-8 SU in its last 9 games when playing Washington
The total has gone OVER in 6 of LA Lakers's last 9 games when playing Washington
LA Lakers is 1-6 ATS in its last 7 games when playing at home against Washington
LA Lakers is 15-7 SU in its last 22 games when playing at home against Washington
LA Lakers is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Washington
The total has gone OVER in 11 of LA Lakers's last 15 games when playing at home against Washington

Team Last 5 Games

Washington Wizards

Date	Opponent	score	Result	line	Total	ATS Result	field goal percentage	free throw percentage	three pointers	Location
Oct 23, 2017	DEN	109-104	W	5	224.5	W/U	44.05	92.86	9	A
Oct 20, 2017	DET	115-111	W	-7	211.5	L/O	54.79	82.86	6	H
Oct 18, 2017	PHI	120-115	W	-6.5	217.5	L/O	43.30	78.95	6	H
May 15, 2017	BOS	105-115	L	5	211	L/O	45.00	79.31	10	A
May 12, 2017	BOS	92-91	W	-5	214.5	L/U	43.02	61.90	5	H

Los Angeles Lakers

Date	Opponent	score	Result	line	Total	ATS Result	field goal percentage	free throw percentage	three pointers	Location
Oct 22, 2017	NOH	112-119	L	4.5	221.5	L/O	48.89	75.00	9	H
Oct 20, 2017	PHO	132-130	W	3	220.5	W/O	51.06	72.73	12	A
Oct 19, 2017	LAC	92-108	L	6.5	219	L/U	40.66	60.87	4	H
Apr 12, 2017	GS	94-109	L	13.5	222	L/U	44.09	57.14	4	A
Apr 11, 2017	NOH	108-96	W	-2.5	218.5	W/U	47.73	69.57	8	H

Next up:
Washington at Golden State Friday, October 27
Los Angeles home to Toronto Friday, October 27

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