The Los Angeles Clippers can win their regular season head-to-head series against the Los Angeles Lakers outright with a victory this Wednesday. Will the Clippers continue their dominance of the Lakers? Or, will the Lakers finally break the Clippers curse?

Catch this game live on Wednesday, January 25, at 11 AM, Manila time

Away: Los Angeles Clippers (25-4/12-13 Away)

Projected Starting Five:

• PG: Terance Mann
• SG: Paul George
• SF: Kawhi Leonard
• PF: Marcus Morris Sr.
• C: Ivica Zubac

The Clippers will shoot for their third win this season versus the Lakers. They have already demolished the Purple & Gold twice in the 2022-23 NBA campaign, beating the Lakers back in October, 103-97, and then again in early November, 114-101. The Clippers had both Paul George and Kawhi Leonard in the first meeting but did not have The Klaw in the second, though, the results are the same. 

This time, the Clippers will once again have the services of their superstar duo of George and Leonard, which is definitely bad news for a Lakers team that just seems to have no answer to their LA rivals. In fact, the Clippers are 9-0 straight up in their last nine meetings with the Lakers, while also covering the spread in eight of those contests, dating back to 2020. And with the way the Clippers have been shooting the ball lately, the Lakers’ leaky defense is poised to get exposed once again. The Clippers have shot 49.2 FG% and 46.7 3FG% in their last three games. The Lakers, on the other hand, are 26th with 118.0 points per game.

Home: Los Angeles Lakers (22-5/12-11 Home)

Projected Starting Five:

• PG: Dennis Schroder
• SG: Patrick Beverley
• SF: Troy Brown Jr.
• PF: LeBron James
• C: Thomas Bryant

First of all, don’t expect to see the Lakers’ shiny new weapon to play in this game, as Rui Hachimura is reportedly not going to play this Wednesday. In any case, the Lakers are having some success of late. They won both their last two games and three of their last four. In their most recent outing, the Lakers erased a 25-point deficit to come up with a 121-112 victory on the road last Monday against the Portland Trail Blazers. 

A reason for the Lakers’ resurgence is the play of Dennis Schroder, who’s averaged 21.5 points and shot 37.5 3FG% to go with 8.0 assists in the last two Lakers games. Schroder did not play in either of the first two meetings with the Clippers this season so he could be the x-factor his team needs to finally end their slump versus the Clips. While the Lakers’ defense has been much-maligned this season, they appear to be turning a corner. They have allowed just 46.7 FG% and 34.3 3FG% in their last five games – seventh and sixth in the entire NBA in that span. The Lakers are also 5-2 ATS in their last seven games after a win.

PREDICTIONS:

Spread: The Clippers (-4.5) cover the spread.

Over/Under: The total (232.0) hits the Under.