The Los Angeles Lakers (44-33) will continue battling for seeding in the Western Conference when they host the Cleveland Cavaliers (46-31) on Saturday afternoon. Los Angeles has won eight of its last nine games to move into a tie with Sacramento for eighth place in the conference standings, sitting one game back of seventh-place New Orleans. Cleveland has alternated between wins and losses in seven straight games, including a 122-101 loss at Phoenix on Wednesday. The Cavaliers are in third place in the Eastern Conference, trailing Milwaukee by one game in the standings.
Tipoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday at Crypto.com Arena. The Lakers are favored by 5 points in the latest Lakers vs. Cavaliers odds, while the over/under is 228.5 points, per SportsLine consensus. Before entering any Cavaliers vs. Lakers picks, you'll want to see the NBA predictions from the model at SportsLine.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past five-plus seasons. The model enters Week 23 of the 2023-24 NBA season on a sizzling 81-55 roll on all top-rated NBA picks this season, returning more than $2,300. Anyone following it has seen huge returns.
The model has set its sights on Cleveland-Los Angeles. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several NBA betting lines for the game:
- Lakers vs. Cavaliers spread: Lakers -5
- Lakers vs. Cavaliers over/under: 228.5 points
- Lakers vs. Cavaliers money line: Lakers: -198, Cavaliers: +165
- Lakers vs. Cavaliers picks: See picks here
Why the Lakers can cover
The Lakers will be excited to return home after wrapping up a six-game road trip with a 125-120 win at Washington on Wednesday. Anthony Davis had 35 points and 18 rebounds, while LeBron James added 25 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. They have won eight of their last nine games to move two games ahead of Golden State in the standings and two games back of sixth-place Phoenix, which is the final spot that avoids the play-in tournament.
All five Los Angeles starters scored in double figures on Wednesday, accounting for 113 of the team's 125 points. They are facing a Cleveland defense that has been shaky of late, allowing opponents to score an average of 111.8 points while shooting 50.4% from the field over their last five games. The Lakers are 5-2 against the spread in their last seven games, and they are 13-1 in their last 14 games against Eastern Conference opponents.
Why the Cavaliers can cover
Cleveland has started to struggle down the stretch of the season, but it has not lost back-to-back games in almost two weeks. The Cavaliers cruised to a 129-113 win at Utah on Tuesday, covering the 9.5-point spread behind 26 points from Caris LeVert. Center Jarrett Allen posted a double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds, while power forward Evan Mobley added 21 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Star guard Donovan Mitchell missed that contest, but he returned to score 24 points in 38 minutes in a loss at Phoenix on Wednesday. Mitchell leads the Cavaliers with 26.8 points, 6.0 assists and 5.1 rebounds per game, while Darius Garland is adding 17.8 points and 6.6 assists. James (ankle) and Davis (knee) are both expected to play for the Lakers, but they have been banged up recently. See which team to pick here.
How to make Lakers vs. Cavaliers picks
The model has simulated Cavaliers vs. Lakers 10,000 times and the results are in. We can tell you that the model is leaning Under, and it's also generated a point-spread pick that is hitting in well over 50% of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Lakers vs. Cavaliers, and which side of the spread hits well over 50% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Cavaliers vs. Lakers spread you need to jump on, all from the model on a 81-55 roll on top-rated NBA picks this season, and find out.
