As NBA fans, we owe the schedule makers a massive thank you for scheduling a primetime game between the Warriors and Lakers during the final week of the regular season. Both star-studded teams are jockeying for position in the Western Conference Play-In Tournament, so this game should have a playoff-type feel to it.
LeBron James is no stranger to games with heightened intensity. And with his season average sitting at 25.4 points per game, I’m surprised we’re getting a discount on his points line tonight.
The matchup against the Warriors suits James well. In fact, he’s torched Golden State for 40 and 36 points this season (the latter in double overtime).
The Warriors struggle defensively in transition, where they're the fifth-most points per game. Meanwhile, the fast break is where James thrive — it's the play type that has yielded him the most points per game.
James, when playing at least 32 minutes, has cleared this points line in 12 of 16 games this season against teams in the bottom 10 defensively versus transition offense. In a must-win game, I expect the minutes to be there tonight for James.
He’s questionable with an illness that held him out Sunday, but I’m more than comfortable firing on this line before we have definitive news. I have the four-time champ projected at 27 points tonight.
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