Warriors at Lakers predictions: odds, expert picks, recent stats, trends, and best bets for October 21
Opening Night for the NBA on NBC and Peacock closes with a West Coast clash of superstars as Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors visit Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers at the Crypto.com Arena at 10 p.m. ET. The Warriors are slight road favorites in a game featuring lineups and roster construction that is quite different from the start of last season both teams.
With LeBron James sidelined by a back injury to start the season, Lakers Head Coach JJ Redick will rely heavily on star guard Luka Dončić, who is embarking on his first full season in Los Angeles. Every piece of the offense will now run through Doncic with key players brought in this offseason including center Deandre Ayton and guard Marcus Smart to support the Lakers’ new leader on the floor…especially on the defensive end.
No changing of the guard for the Warriors. Golden State returns a championship-caliber core of Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, and Draymond Green. After acquiring Butler last season, the Warriors won 23 of their final 30 games. With Curry at the helm, this team is expected to contend for a title. Can this group of aging veterans manage an 82-gamne schedule and be fresh for a deep playoff run? Managing minutes while developing team chemistry and a flow at both ends of the court is Steve Kerr’s primary job this season.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on how to catch tipoff, odds courtesy of DraftKings recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
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Game Details and How to watch the Warriors vs. Lakers live
- Date: Tuesday, October 21, 2025
- Time: 10:00PM EST
- Site: Crypto.com Arena
- City: Los Angeles, CA
- Network/Streaming: NBC/Peacock
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Game odds for the Warriors at the Lakers
The latest odds as of Tuesday courtesy of DraftKings:
- Moneyline: Golden State Warriors (-148), Los Angeles Lakers (+124)
- Spread: Warriors -2.5
- Total: 225.5 points
That gives the Warriors an implied team point total of 112.71, and the Lakers111.41.
Be sure to check out DraftKings for all the latest game odds & player props for every matchup this week on the NBA schedule!
Expected Starting Lineups for the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Lakers
Golden State Warriors
G Stephen Curry (2024-25 Season: 70GP, 24.5ppg, 4.4reb/gm, 6.0ast/gm)
G Buddy Hield (2024-25 Season: 82GP, 11.1ppg, 3.2reb/gm, 1.6ast/gm)
F Jimmy Butler (2024-25 Season: 55GP, 17.5ppg, 5.4reb/gm, 5.4ast/gm)
F Draymond Green (2024-25 Season: 68GP, 9.0ppg, 6.1reb/gm, 5.6ast/gm)
C Al Horford (2024-25 Season: 60GP, 9.0ppg, 6.2reb/gm, 2.1ast/gm)
Los Angeles Lakers
G Luka Doncic (2024-25 Season: 50GP, 28.2ppg, 8.2reb/gm, 7.7ast/gm)
G Austin Reaves (2024-25 Season: 73GP, 20.2ppg, 4.5reb/gm, 5.8ast/gm)
F Rui Hachimura (2024-25 Season: 59GP, 13.1ppg, 5.0reb/gm, 1.4ast/gm)
F Gabe Vincent (2024-25 Regular Season: 72GP, 6.4ppg, 1.3reb/gm, 1.4ast/gm)
C Deandre Ayton (2024-25 Season: 40GP, 14.4pts, 10.2reb/gm, 1.6ast/gm)
Important stats, trends and insights ahead of the Golden State Warriors at the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday
- These teams last met on April 3, 2025 with the Warriors prevailing, 123-116
- Earlier in the season, the Lakers and the Warriors played a double-overtime thriller during “NBA Rivals Week” with LeBron James sinking a game-winning free throw to give the Lakers a 145-144 victory
- This rivalry dates back to 1948 and thus predates the current locations of each franchise
- Luka Doncic has scored 12,878 points in his career (4,359 field goals and 2,782 free throws)
- Stephen Curry has scored 25,386 points in his career (ranks 24th all-time – Alex English with 25,163 is No. 23)
Rotoworld Best Bet
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Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper): Game Total OVER 224.5
This total is about 5 points too low considering the state of these offenses and significant questions about each team’s ability to defend the point of attack.
Trysta Krick (@Trysta_Krick): Luka Doncic to lead the NBA in Scoring (+295)
The NBA returns tonight — and for the first time, it’s back on NBC and Peacock, which just feels right. So let’s celebrate with a season-long wager: who will lead the league in scoring?
Last year’s MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (+170), took home that honor, and he opens as the betting favorite again. Right behind him are Giannis Antetokounmpo (+250) and Luka Dončić (+295).
Here’s the case against Shai: when Chet Holmgren was hurt to start last season, SGA had to carry the load and put up monster numbers. Once Chet returned, Shai’s scoring dipped slightly as OKC began to spread the wealth.
Luka, on the other hand, is going to shoulder a massive offensive burden — especially early in the season. With his co-star sidelined at least through mid-November (and maybe longer), he could easily pace the league through the first few months.
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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the NBA calendar based on data points like recent performance, head-to-head player matchups, trends information and projected game totals.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projections next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for today’s Warriors & Lakers game:
- Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play on the Lakers on the Moneyline.
- Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Lakers +2.5.
- Total: NBC Sports Bet is staying away from a play on the Game Total of 225.5.
Want even more NBA best bets and predictions from our expert staff & tools? Check out the Expert NBA Predictions page from NBC Sports for money line, spread and over/under picks for every game on today’s calendar!
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our NBA Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!
Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff:
– Jay Croucher (@croucherJD)
– Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper)
– Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports)
– Trysta Krick (@Trysta_Krick)
