It’s a potential if not likely NBA Finals preview to highlight Tuesday’s slate as the Cleveland Cavaliers visit the Los Angeles Lakers in what could be the final game LeBron James ever plays against his first and “hometown” franchise. The 41-year-old James could retire this offseason or even return to Ohio next season for a final year. Tuesday also marks Luka Doncic’s return from a one-game suspension.
It’s a 10:30 p.m. ET tip and surprisingly will not be on national TV as the NBA instead has a doubleheader with Knicks-Rockets and Trail Blazers-Clippers airing. There is a limit to how many nationally televised games the Lakers can play.
Will LeBron retire this summer? No one knows but him, although the various sportsbooks have their opinions. The consensus number is that he will at +400 with No at -700. You can also wager on LeBron’s next team if not the Lakers and Cleveland is +150 favorite followed by Golden State (+300) and New York (+400). Use the latest FanDuel promo code to wager on Cavaliers vs. Lakers, James’ player props and his future outlook.
James will be a free agent without a fallback option for the first time in his career, and it would make so much sense for his career to go full circle and end back near his hometown and with the franchise he led to its only NBA title in 2016. Are the Lakers true title contenders this season? Maybe if the Thunder and Spurs each suffer a key injury, but I’d say no. To win the West, Los Angeles is +1500.
If LeBron wants to go out with a fifth career ring, perhaps Cleveland offers the best shot with a more talented core already in place and playing in the East could provide an easier path back to the Finals. I personally like the Cavs to win the East this year at +320 thanks to the James Harden trade. A Cavs-Lakers Finals matchup is +5500. You can bet on NBA futures and more with the latest DraftKings promo code to secure a great offer.
I’m hoping James plays Tuesday considering it’s the second of a back-to-back after L.A. thrashed the Wizards 120-101 on Monday with Doncic serving a one-game suspension for technical foul accumulation. James only played 33 minutes and scored a team-high 21 points. His points line set at 18.5 Tuesday night.
Another NBA record is on the line for James as he is one victory shy from passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1,228) for most total wins in league history, including the playoffs.
Doncic, the NBA’s scoring leader, got technical foul No. 16 of the season on Friday against the Nets. For every two additional techs Doncic receives between now and the end of the regular season, he will be automatically suspended for an additional game. Doncic is averaging 39.7 points over his past 10 and set at 32.5 tonight.
It’s also the second of a back-to-back for Cleveland as it also faced a tanking team on Monday and won 122-113 at Utah. Former All-Star center Jarrett Allen sat that out but simply for rest and should play here. Jaylon Tyson (13.1 PPG) is out for this trip.
Expect a motivated Lakers bunch as they were embarrassed 129-99 in Cleveland on Jan. 28. The Cavs outscored L.A. by 20 in the third quarter to break the game open — Tyson finished with 20 points, six rebounds and six assists. It was James’ worst loss in Cleveland as a visiting player, and the Akron native had just 11 points. It marked first time in 13 trips to Cleveland as an opposing player he has not had at least 20. I’m sure he will remember that.
Doncic led the Lakers with 29 points despite missing six minutes in the first quarter to have his ankle checked. Doncic enters tonight 33 points away from 15,000 career. The Cavaliers have taken the past three in the series, but L.A. is 6-1 in its past seven against teams with a winning percentage of at least .600 (loss was close in Detroit).
Cavs-Lakers FanDuel same-game parlay (+103)
- Lakers money line
- Alt Under 250.5
The SportsLine Projection Model has the Cavs winning 120-117 but I like L.A. in that it didn’t travel for the second of a B2B and has a rested Doncic, while Harden played 39 minutes Monday for the Cavs and Donovan Mitchell logged 37. The Cavs are 2-6 ATS in their past eight, and L.A. has won nine in a row at home. Plus, there’s the payback factor. Check out other expert picks in the daily newsletter.
