LeBron James Odds and NBA Props: LeBron Wins Battle of LA

The battle of LA got just a little bit glitzier for Wednesday night.

While you can look at the Los Angeles Clippers’ newly formed quartet of stars, or Anthony Davis leading the Los Angeles Lakers in scoring and rebounding, the King still looms above all.

Well, at least he does here, as LeBron James odds are front and center in my Clippers vs. Lakers NBA player props.

Has LBJ ceded top-dog status? Or is this a temporary, gradual build to something greater down the line? And can he still rise up to throw down something special in marquee matchups like this one, where the Lakers will try to avoid a 12th-straight loss to their crypto.com roommates?

Hey, it’s not our job to predict the NBA odds in this one, but regardless of the outcome, we still expect LeBron to feature prominently in today's NBA picks. Be sure to also check out our Clippers vs. Lakers betting preview!

LeBron James NBA prop picks

• James Over 20.5 pts
• James Over 20.5 pts/Over 7.5 rbs/Over 1.5 threes

Click on each pick to jump to the full analysis.

LeBron James NBA prop pick

Over 20.5 points (-110)

In previous seasons, the Los Angeles Lakers’ 106-103 win over the Magic on Monday would have been a matchup that featured King James in street clothes at the end of the bench.

LA was playing the second night of a back-to-back and had just come off a 132-127 overtime loss to the Sacramento Kings where James logged a season-high 39 minutes of action.

Perhaps that had something to do with his output the following night, as LeBron posted his first sub-20-point performance of the year, finishing with 19 points, three rebounds, four assists, and three steals.

LeBron shot a season-low 41.2% from the field and had another high giveaway night with five turnovers.

The day of rest heading into this one will be valuable, considering James’ much-discussed minutes restriction — which was supposed to limit him to somewhere between 28-30 minutes per game — has never really materialized. After playing 29 minutes in the season opener, James has played at least 33 minutes in every game since.

I do see this game as another minutes-restrictions-be-dammed affair, especially if the Lakers are in a position to snap this long losing streak to the Los Angeles Clippers.

That means scoring shouldn’t be a problem against the Clips — though it never has been, really: in his last 10 against LA’s other team, James has scored 21 points or more in eight of them.

It has come at a pretty high volume. While averaging 26.5 points per game over that stretch, James is shooting just 41.9% from the field, hoisting no fewer than 17 field goal attempts in each game.

Getting up shots hasn’t changed much to start this year. He’s averaging 16.5 field goal attempts per game, but hitting at a more efficient 53% from the field.

Look for LeBron to again raise his game and deliver in prime time.

Prop: LeBron James Over 20.5 points (-105 at FanDuel) 50% boost available

LeBron James NBA same-game parlay

James Over 20.5 points

James Over 7.5 rebounds

James Over 1.5 made 3-pointers

50% boost available

+359 +538 at FanDuel

Let’s stick with the King on this single-game parlay, starting with his work on the glass.

James grabbed a season-low three boards against the Magic, partly due to gearing down on a back-to-back night, and partly due to Anthony Davis gobbling up 19 rebounds on his own.

LBJ has worked the glass well against the Clippers in his last 10 head-to-heads, grabbing at least eight rebounds in all but one contest.

The Clippers are currently tied for 23rd in total rebounding this season and are Bottom 7 in offensive rebounds allowed. James should sneak in for a few backside offensive boards while helping out on the defensive glass as well.

If there’s any team that can help LeBron work his way out of his early 3-point shooting funk, it’s the Clippers.

James is shooting 38.6% from beyond the arc in his last 10 vs. the Clips and has drilled at least two triples in each contest. That includes last season’s memorable 9-for-14 effort from distance, en route to 46 points in a game the Lakers lost 133-115.

This year, LBJ has shot above average just once in four games, going 7-for-22 overall — a lowly 30.4%.

The 3-point shot is not nearly as potent a weapon as it has been in previous campaigns for James, plus LA’s plan was to dot the roster with competent 3-point shooting around the LBJ and AD satellites.

And yet, the Lakers are 28th in the league in 3-point shooting, hitting at 29.2% rate — one of only four teams to go sub-30% so far this season.

After making just a single three in each of his first two games, LeBron has hit five triples over the last two contests.

The Clippers can throw both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George at LeBron, so he might not be able to turn the corner on a drive or split the gap in a pick-and-roll as much as he’s used to.

That should result in an uptick in his attempts from distance, which should be just enough to win this prop.

Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.

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