Warriors Will Respond In Game 4 Vs. Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers (2-1) beat the crap out of the Golden State Warriors Saturday. Warriors-Lakers run it back for Game 4 Monday at the Crypto.com Arena in LA before heading back up to the Bay.
Despite the Lakers crushing the Dubs 127-100 in Game 3, the betting market isn't overreacting. LAL is only -3 (-110) as of 12:30 p.m. ET Monday after oddsmakers opened the Lakers as -4 favorites.
Golden State generally bounces back from embarrassing losses. The Warriors lit up the Kings 120-100 in a 1st-round series-clinching Game 7 on the road after getting routed 118-99 at home in Game 6.
Warriors' Stephen Curry is bummed out as Golden State gets crushed by the LA Lakers in Game 3 of the 2023 NBA Western Conference Finals at Crypto.com Arena. (Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports)
They responded to both blowout losses in the 2022 NBA Finals with double-digit victories over the Celtics. The Dubs beat the Mavs by 10 after losing by 10 in last year's conference finals. They did the same vs. the Grizzlies in the second-round.
Lakers big Anthony Davis follows a similar pattern. Davis has alternated between scoring 20+ points and scoring 16 or fewer points for his nine games this postseason.
If Golden State minimizes AD on the offensive end, I'll take my chances with the Warriors in Game 4. The Warriors have two elite interior defenders in PF Draymond Green and C Kevon Looney to throw at Davis.
Lakers big Anthony Davis battles Warriors PF Draymond Green in Game 2 of their series at the Chase Center in San Francisco. (Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports)
The Warriors have attempted 44 fewer free throws in this series (83-39). Golden State had trouble in this area all season but NBA playoff officiating is suspect. I could see the refs calling fewer fouls in Game 4.
It just feels like the Warriors are going to go off from 3. They are hitting 39.6% of their 3-pointers in this series (18.3-of-46.3). The Lakers have the worst defensive wide-open 3-point-attempt rate in these playoffs.
BET: Golden State Warriors +3 (-110) at DraftKings Sportsbook, down to +2.5
PS Player Prop: Warriors wing Andrew Wiggins points prop (16.5)
Wiggins' point prop is increasing and the player props betting markets are usually more efficient than the games themselves. Other U.S. sportsbooks have Wiggins' points prop listed at 17.5 and the sharp shops have heavy juice on his Over.
He has scored at least 17 points in six of his 10 games this postseason but hasn't yet in this series. Wiggins did score an efficient 16 points in Game 3. He was pulled late though since the Dubs got killed.
Warriors SF Andrew Wiggins shoots a 3-pointer in Game 3 vs. the LA Lakers at Crypto.Com Arena in Los Angeles. (Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
In last year's playoffs, Wiggins scored at least 17 points in 13 of his 22 games, including five of the six 2022 NBA Finals games. Wiggins has the highest offensive rating for the Warriors in this series.
LeBron James has been defending Wiggins in this series. LeBron is known to lollygag on defense and he plays a little free safety sometimes. The Splash Brothers' gravitational pull can certainly create wide-open looks for Wiggins.