Sports

NBA Christmas Day odds: Lakers favored over Clippers in Battle for Los Angeles

by
Dave Bradstock
December 23, 2019

los angeles lakers clippers nba christmas

While the NBA season officially begins in October, many fans don’t start watching until Christmas Day. With college and professional football winding down, coupled with star-studded basketball showdowns create premier betting opportunities.

For the Yuletide matchups, the NBA is gifting five games for fans starting at noon. Starting with the Boston Celtics (20-7) versus the Toronto Raptors (21-8) and culminating with the Denver Nuggets (20-8) playing the New Orleans Pelicans (7-23) at 10:30 pm ET.

The highest-profile game of the holiday, however, is the Los Angeles Face-off. The Clippers (22-10) will take on the Western Conference-leading Lakers (24-6) at 8:00 pm. According to the odds, the game will be close with the Lakers favored by a single point.

Lakers’ superstar LeBron James has played 13 Christmas Day games over his career, averaging 26 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists and going 9-4 overall. Flanked with marquee defenders Paul George and Kawhi Leonard from the Clippers could pose a problem for the four-time MVP.

The day’s other games include 2018-19 MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and his Milwaukee Bucks (27-4) taking on Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers (21-10) and James Harden’s Houston Rockets (20-9) against the hobbling Golden State Warriors (6-24).

The Warriors are in the midst of their worst run in the Steve Kerr era. Riddled with injuries to the team’s superstars, two-time MVP Steph Curry broke his hand in late-October and five-time All-Star Klay Thompson has missed the entire season since his July knee surgery.

A full breakdown of the December 25 games is below along with the spreads, money lines and totals. To gain a better understanding of betting on the NBA, we offer a guide here.