Two struggling teams meet up this Saturday at crypto.com Arena, with the Philadelphia 76er and the Los Angeles Lakers each looking to snap a losing skid. Will the 76ers get their first win with Paul George by taking down the Purple & Gold? Or, will the Lakers return to their winning ways and keep their home record unblemished?

Catch this game live on Saturday, November 9, 2024 at 11:00 AM, Manila time

Away: Philadelphia 76ers (1-6 / 1-3 Away)

Projected Starting Five:

• Kyle Lowry
• Kelly Oubre Jr.
• Paul George
• Caleb Martin
• Andre Drummond

Paul George is finally playing but the 76ers are still far from full strength. In fact, they just got a new injury to a key player to deal with, as star point guard Tyrese Maxey suffered a right hamstring injury in last Thursday’s 110-98 loss in Inglewood at the hands of the Los Angeles Clippers. Maxey will be out for a while, joining Joel Embiid on the sidelines. 

With both Maxey and Embiid not playing, George will have all the usage he could want this Saturday against the Lakers. George has played in only two games so far, but he should be close to getting to his top form. He had 15 points in his Sixers debut last Tuesday and 18 points in the Clippers game. As a team, the Sixers are not in ideal form, as they have lost all of their last four games and rank just 26th in the league with an average of 107.1 points per game and last with a defensive effective field goal percentage of 58.4. Philadelphia enters the weekend with a 5-3 record against the spread in their last eight games as the visiting team versus the Lakers.

Home: Los Angeles Lakers (4-4/ 3-0 Home)

Projected Starting Five:

• D’Angelo Russell
• Austin Reaves
• Rui Hachimura (DTD)
• LeBron James
• Anthony Davis (DTD)

The Lakers are coming off a brutal five-game road trip in which they went just 1-4 straight up. In the last stop of that journey, the Lakers were embarrassed by Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies in a 131-114 loss on Thursday. Granted that the Lakers played without Anthony Davis in that contest, they could still have fared better. LeBron James had 39 points at age 39 in the Memphis game while Austin Reaves scored 19 points but the rest of the starters were mere ghosts on the floor.

 D’Angelo Russell chipped in 12 points but was sent to the doghouse by JJ Redick for an apparent lack of effort. It’s going to be interesting whether he starts for the Lakers this Saturday. In any case, the status of Davis will be worth monitoring for the Lakers, who are undefeated in three home games so far this season. The Lakers are averaging only 112.6 points per game on the road but are putting up 121.3 points when they’re at home. Moreover, the Lakers are 6-4 against the spread in their last 10 regular-season home games, dating back to the 2023-24 NBA campaign.

Picks

Spread: Philadelphia 76ers (+7.5)

Over/Under: Under (222.5)