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Bucks vs. Lakers Odds, Picks, Predictions: Title Contender Visits L.A.

Young Juliet

Updated as of February 9, 2023 at 3:39 PM EST • Read time: 3 minutes and 7 seconds. Links to Twitter and Google News for more information.

Giannis Antetokounmpo dribbles down the court and we offer up our top picks as the Bucks visit the Lakers.
Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks dribbles during the first quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers. Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images via AFP.

The Milwaukee Bucks will face off against the Los Angeles Lakers in a highly anticipated NBA matchup to end a busy day in the league. Check out our top picks for the Bucks vs. Lakers game based on the latest NBA odds.

Only Bobby Portis and Joe Ingles will be listed as out for Thursday’s prime-time contest, so all the stars will be playing. We will be focusing on Lebron, Giannis, and AD in our Bucks-Lakers player prop picks.

Editor’s note: LeBron James was ruled out of Thursday’s game after the publication.

Despite being on a two-game losing streak, the Lakers have not been making headlines for their wins recently. However, after LeBron James set the all-time NBA scoring record, the Lakers made a strong push in the trade market to improve their team before the deadline.

D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, and Jarred Vanderbilt were acquired in a three-team trade involving Russell Westbrook. They are set to make their team debut on Saturday against Golden State. Thomas Bryant and Patrick Beverley are also leaving the team, while LeBron’s status for Thursday is questionable.

Check out our top pick for the Bucks vs. Lakers NBA game, including odds from Caesars and confidence rating on a scale of 1 to 5 stars.

As the NBA Trade Deadline approaches on Thursday, stay updated with our analysis of the NBA Finals probabilities. Plus, check out our predictions for Thursday’s Bulls-Nets matchup.

Bucks vs. Lakers pick

LeBron James first quarter Under 7.5 points (-129 via Caesars) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Lakers will likely be missing key players, including James, which could lead to other players on the roster stepping up offensively. This trend is especially noticeable in the first quarter. In the 25 games this season where Anthony Davis has played, James has fallen short of this line 20 times, averaging 6.5 points per 12 minutes in the first quarter during those games. This suggests that even if James manages to play the entire quarter despite his injury concerns, it is still expected that he will not meet this line.

Additionally, the Bucks remain one of the top defensive teams in the NBA, especially when it comes to putting pressure on opposing team’s top scorers. Despite the absence of Bobby Portis in the paint, their defensive performance has not suffered. In fact, this could potentially be good news for Anthony Davis to have a strong game near the basket.

Here is the performance of the top scoring options in the first quarter against the Bucks in their last three games:

  • Kawhi Leonard: six points in 12 minutes, Paul George: seven points in eight minutes
  • Jimmy Butler: 11 points in 10 minutes, Bam Adebayo: zero points in six minutes
  • Damian Lillard: two points in nine minutes, Anfernee Simons: five points in nine minutes

Now that LeBron has broken the all-time scoring record, he may either be distributing the ball or facing a tough defensive matchup in the first quarter of Thursday’s late-night TNT game.

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Bucks vs. Lakers best odds

Caesars (-129)

DraftKingsFanDuelBetMGMCaesarsPointsBet
Under 7.5 pointsN/AN/AUnder 7.5 pointsN/A
-130N/AN/A-129N/A

Player prop markets for the first quarter are not typically found, but currently, there are two similar options available on DraftKings and Caesars. Of the two, Caesars offers slightly better value.

James has an 80% hit rate this season, even accounting for Bryant and Westbrook’s absences. I would be willing to pay up to -135 on this prop if the line reaches that point. If the line drops to 6.5, it becomes a three-star play.

Bucks vs. Lakers odds

Take a look at our NBA Finals and NBA MVP betting odds.

Bucks vs. Lakers odds analysis

The Bucks, currently on an eight-game winning streak, have two days off before embarking on a two-day, two-game road trip in Los Angeles. They are favored by 8 points on the road and have a 29-22-3 record against the spread this season, ranking third in the NBA for cover rate. Despite this, their record drops to 5-6-1 against the spread when they have a rest advantage, as they will on Thursday.

The Lakers have a record of 25-29-1 against the spread this season. They are 5-7-1 when at a rest disadvantage, but have a strong 8-6-0 against the spread record when playing as underdogs at home.

The total for this game has remained consistent around 238.5 on most sportsbooks, with a slight majority of the public favoring the Under.

Bucks vs. Lakers game info

  • Date: Thursday, Feb. 9, 10 p.m. ET
  • TV: TNT
  • Location: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA

The Bucks-Lakers selection was made on February 9, 2023 at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

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Written By:
Young Juliet
Ahaan is an analytics researcher who works in fantasy football and sports betting, focusing on MLB, NBA, and NFL. He’s previously contributed fantasy baseball and football content for Fantrax and currently is a betting analyst for PlayerProfiler, where he has also been a director of analytics. When Ahaan is not capping sports props, he’s often playing sports such as floor hockey and basketball and binge-watching The Voice.