The Los Angeles Lakers are having fun so far in the JJ Redick Era, and they are also flying at the moment with a lengthy win streak that LA will be putting on the line when they host the struggling Utah Jazz. Will the Lakers extend their undefeated run? Or, will the Jazz find a way to ruin LA’s night in Hollywood?

Catch this game live on Wednesday, November 20, 2024 at 11:30 AM, Manila time

Away: Utah Jazz (3-10/2-5 Away)

Projected Starting Five:

• Keyonte George
• Collin Sexton
• Lauri Markkanen
• Kyle Filipowski
• John Collins

The Jazz continue their West Coast sojourn this Wednesday with a visit to the Lakers’ home.  Utah is also looking to win its first game in its current trip after losing to the Sacramento Kings (121-117)and Los Angeles Clippers (116-105) last Sunday and Monday, respectively. 

Despite the loss to the Clippers, the Jazz must have liked the balanced attack they had in that contest, with four of their starters scoring at least 11 points. Meanwhile, Jordan Clarkson came off the bench and fired 21 points. Where the Jazz hurt themselves in that contest was on the turnover side, as they gave the ball away 18 times to the Clippers. Ball security has been a major issue for Utah this season, as the Jazz are 29th in the league at the time of this writing with 16.8 turnovers per game and 30th with a 14.8 percent turnover rate. 

The Jazz have covered the spread in two of their last three games at the Purple & Gold’s home.

Home: Los Angeles Lakers (9-4/6-0 Home)

Projected Starting Five:

• Austin Reaves
• Cam Reddish (questionable)
• Rui Hachimura (questionable)
• LeBron James
• Anthony Davis

The Lakers are in fine form going into the meeting with Utah. Los Angeles is on a five-game undefeated streak following a 104-99 takedown of the New Orleans Pelicans on the road. Now, the Lakers return home where they have been perfect so far in the 2024-25 NBA regular season. In their most recent appearance in Tinseltown, the Lakers beat the Memphis Grizzlies to the tune of a 128-123 score. 

But as shown by their last two outings, the Lakers have been good regardless of location of late. Before the New Orleans game, the Lakers defeated the San Antonio Spurs (120-115) in Texas back on Saturday. Anthony Davis and LeBron James are unsurprisingly the most responsible individuals for the Lakers’ current win streak, but another name to watch out for LA is rookie Dalton Knecht, who has put up an average of 20.0 on a fiery 63.9 FG% and 63.2 3FG% over Los Angeles’ past three contests. 

The Lakers are 4-1 against the spread in their last five games as the home team.

Picks

Spread: Utah Jazz (+11.0)

Over/Under: Over (229.5)