Los Angeles Lakers vs Portland Trail Blazers prediction: the dog's bigger wins

Something has to give at Crypto.com Arena. The Lakers are 3–0, the Blazers 2–0, and neither has really been pushed yet.

The Lakers have done it the steady way. Golden State 127–105, the Clippers 125–117, then a 132–123 shootout in Utah. Three wins, three different shapes, and you'd say they look like a side that knows how to close a game.

Portland's start has been louder. They hammered Phoenix 124–83 at home in their opener, a 41-point margin, then went to Sacramento and won 128–120. Two games is a small sample, but neither of those was a narrow escape.

So the story is two teams in good nick, with the home side a touch more proven and the visitors a touch more dangerous. That's the sort of game that tends to land within a bucket or two either way. Tip-off is 2pm AEDT on Wednesday.

The price

The Lakers are 1.73 to win outright and the Blazers 2.27, a fairly small gap for two sides with a combined 5–0 record. The main line is Lakers −2.5, with Portland +2.5 available at 1.97. On the story above, getting a couple of points with the dog that has posted the bigger wins is the better side of that number.

Verdict

Trail Blazers +2.5 at 1.97.