Lakers vs Rockets Expert Picks, Betting Splits & Injury Report

• The LA Lakers are +115 moneyline underdogs vs the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night
• LA dumped Houston 100-92 in their matchup on Monday
• Read below for my Lakers vs Rockets pick, lastest odds and betting splits

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It should be another doozy Wednesday night in the state of Texas, as the Los Angeles Lakers (43-25, 20-13 away) look to sweep a 2-game set in Houston against the Rockets (41-26, 23-9 home).

Perhaps because of the Lakers’ 100-92 win last game, the NBA odds have Houston as the moneyline favorite in the rematch.

Action tips off at 9:30pm ET from the Toyota Center in H-Town, with ESPN carrying the national broadcast.

Read below for my Lakers vs Rockets preview, including odds, betting splits and props to target.

Lakers vs Rockets Odds

Odds as of March 18. The interactive table above will automatically update as the NBA odds move over the course of the day.

Currently, you can catch LA as +115 on the moneyline at bet365 to win straight up, while Houston is getting -134 odds at FanDuel. The spread is at 2.5 points, with the Lakers getting those extra points at -105 odds, and the Rockets giving them at -110.

The total is set for 222.5 points, with the Over getting -108 odds at FanDuel, and the Under -110 odds at bet365.

Lakers vs Rockets Prediction

• Pick: Under 222.5 points (-110 at bet365)

These teams rank just inside the Top 10 in the latest NBA championship odds.

With the data overwhelmingly pointing towards a defensive, low-scoring affair, my strongest play of the night is taking the Under at 222.5 points.

The Under has cashed in each of the last five Lakers games on the road against top-10 scoring defenses while the Under hit in four of the Rockets’ last five games. Their Under record is also a crisp 5-1-0 at home in their last six games at home following a loss.

Tempo needs to be taken into account in this matchup. The Rockets essentially walk the ball up the court, ranking 29th in the NBA in pace. The Lakers also prefer a methodical half-court game, sitting below the league average at 20th in pace. Throw in Houston’s elite third-ranked scoring defense (109.8 PPG allowed), and offense might be hard to come by, just like last game.

As for the side, backing the Lakers on the moneyline offers incredible value. The Lakers are exceptionally dangerous when stepping up in class, boasting a flawless 4-0 straight-up and against-the-spread record in their last four games against opponents with a winning record.

Lakers vs Rockets Betting Splits

The NBA public betting market is pretty clear on who it’s targeting in this matchup of Top-4 Western Conference foes. On the moneyline, LA is getting 79.1% of the money on 62.3% of the tickets

The public is also leaning on the Lakers getting those extra 2.5 points on the road, with 73% of the bets and 62% of the money taking the visiting underdogs.

And despite our best bet, the public is hammering the Over Wednesday night, with 86.4% of the money taking the Over on 88.1% of the tickets.

Lakers vs Rockets Injury Reports

The most significant loss on either side is the loss of Alperen Sengun (back). The big man is not only the big body in the middle of the Rockets’ defense, but he is, at most times, the offensive hub that the Rockets play off of, at least as much as with Kevin Durant.

The loss also looms large as the Rockets are already down Steven Adams (ankle) for the year, and another big body, forward Jae’Sean Tate (knee) will also be sidelined. That pushes the Rockets out of bully-ball mode, takes away one of their biggest strengths (offensive rebounding) and forces them to play smaller, relying heavily on Jabari Smith Jr to anchor the paint and protect the glass against a highly efficient Los Angeles offense.