The Los Angeles Lakers are in New York this week for games against the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets. The Lakers will play the Knicks on Wednesday night and then travel to Brooklyn for this matchup on Thursday night. Brooklyn was one of the most talked about teams during the offseason, but things have not gone smoothly for them to begin the season. The Nets can still make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference, but they are in need of a big win to get their season back on the right track.

Los Angeles comes into this New York trip with a record of 34-9, but two of their losses have been in the last three games. The Lakers are still sitting on top in the Western Conference, but they have plenty of teams that are right on their heels. Los Angeles will be big favorites in both games on this trip, and will be ready for the Nets.

Brooklyn comes into this game having lost four straight games to fall to just 18-24 on the season. The Nets are in fourth place in the Atlantic Division, and they are going to have to fight to be a playoff team this season. Brooklyn is 11-11 at home so far this season, and they will be playing in front of a raucous home crowd.

The Lakers have all the pieces needed to be a great defense, but they have struggled on that end of the floor of late. Los Angeles is still holding teams to just 106.4 points per game, but they have not looked like this team in the last few weeks. The Lakers have two dominant rim protectors in LeBron James and Anthony Davis, but their guards will be tested in this one.

LeBron James and Anthony Davis have missed some time of late, but both of them head into this week at close to 100 percent. The Lakers are playing without point guard Rajon Rondo, and that has definitely affected their offense. James and Davis are both averaging close to 27 points per game, but they will need some help to beat the Nets. Look for Kyle Kuzma to have a big game and make some shots to give the Lakers a boost on offense.

The Brooklyn Nets acquired Kyrie Irving to give them a leader and a superstar offensive threat, but he has started to become a distraction. Irving is averaging over 26 points per game, but he has also missed some time due to “load management.” You can expect that the All Star will be on the court against his former teammate, but the Nets need him to just play basketball.

Spencer Dinwiddie has chipped in with over 21 points per game, and the Nets need to shoot it well.

Brooklyn is allowing over 111 points per game, and that just won’t get the job done with any consistency. The Nets have a ton of guards who can be lockdown defenders, but protecting the rim has been a real problem for them. It’s hard to see a way that Brookyln can matchup with James and Davis, but they will have to figure something out.

The Los Angeles Lakers will be playing for the second straight night in this game, but they won’t be doing much traveling. The Lakers will have a chance to complete a nice two-game sweep through New York, but this game should be a bigger challenge than the one on Wednesday night. The Brooklyn Nets were supposed to be one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference this season, but they have some things to figure out. Brooklyn is below league average in offense and defense, and they are going to struggle against the Lakers.

Bet on the Los Angeles Lakers to beat the Brooklyn Nets in blowout fashion on Thursday night. Take the Lakers at A1pph.com; our favorite pay per head bookie site.

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