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The Los Angeles Lakers have been a pleasant surprise so far this NBA season with a 10-4 record, especially with so many key players missing games due to injury.
Luka Doncic has missed four games, Austin Reaves has missed three games and LeBron James has yet to play.
However, the four-time league MVP is expected to make his debut on Tuesday, when Los Angeles hosts the Utah Jazz as 12-point favorites with a total of 236.5 points.
James has been sidelined with sciatica and is a game-time decision. How the Lakers weave him into the rotation will be interesting, considering they have such solid chemistry playing through Doncic.
Utah also has surpassed expectations and may eventually become the first team to surpass its preseason win total of 18.5. The Jazz have a 5-8 record and are 8-5 against the spread (ATS).
LeBron James and Luka Doncic will share the floor for the first time this season Tuesday night against the Utah Jazz. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con
If nothing else, the Jazz are extremely exciting. They routinely find themselves in high-scoring games, thanks to a defensive efficiency that ranks in the bottom 10. However, those mainly have occurred at home. The road leaves a lot to be desired.
Betting on the NBA?
Since this game could become a blowout in favor of Los Angeles, I am focusing on the first half. I expect that to be fairly competitive and for the Lakers offense to take advantage of Utah’s poor defense, even with incorporating James for the first time. He will be just fine.
I have a 77-63-2 ATS record in this Post sports section and my next play is the first half Over the point total of 116.5 and I like it up to 121 points.
The Play: First Half Over 116.5 total points (-105, DraftKings)
Why Trust New York Post Betting
Doug Kezirian is a New York Post contributor who has over two decades of experience in the betting space, including spending 11 years at ESPN as a host, columnist and betting analyst. He’s also the rare personality who has documented success – 14th place in 2023 Circa Million and Las Vegas SuperContest ($37K), two top-10 finishes in 2022 William Hill College Football Challenge ($58K) and also grabbed headlines with a $297K win on the 2021 NFL Draft.
