Celtics vs. Lakers prediction: Odds, expert picks, game details, latest trends and best bets for January 23

It’s Thursday, January 23, and one of the NBA’s most storied rivalries will be renewed as the Boston Celtics (31-13) and Los Angeles Lakers (23-18) meet tonight at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

This is Game 3 of 4 on Boston’s current road trip that has seen them blow out the Warriors by 40 on Monday and outlast the Clippers in OT, 117-113, last night. The Lakers took out the Washington Wizards on Tuesday with a comfortable 111-88 win in SoCal. LeBron James led the way with a triple-double for LA.

The Celtics are currently 16-5 on the road with a +9 point differential while the Lakers have a 7-3 record in their last ten games at home.

We’ve got all the information and analysis you need to know ahead of the match, including the latest how to catch tips, odds, recent team performances, player stats and of course our predictions, picks and best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.

Listen to Rotoworld Basketball Show for the latest fantasy player news, waiver claims, guard advice and more from our experts all season long. Click here or download it wherever you get your podcasts.

Game details and how to watch Celtics vs. Lakers live today

• Date: Thursday 23 January 2025
• Time: 10:00 PM EST
• Website: Crypto.com Arena
• Town: Los Angeles, CA
• Network/Streaming: TNT/Max

Never miss a second of the action and stay up to date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check our day by day NBA schedule pagealong with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game.

Bets for Celtics vs. Lakers

Latest odds from Thursday:

• Odds: Celtics (-243), Lakers (+199)
• Spread: Celtics -6
• Over/Under: 222 points

That gives the Celtics an implied team point of 113.13 and the Lakers 110.

Want to know which sportsbook offers the best lines for every game on the NBA calendar? Check out NBC Sports’ Live Odds tool to get all the latest updated information from DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM and more!

Expert picks and predictions for Thursday Celtics vs. Lakers game

NBC Sports Betting Best Bets

Drew Dinsick is on the Lakers to sneak inside the number: LA Lakers +5
“Have unlike Brad! Clippers came through for me last night, despite being very shorthanded, Celtics are in a brutal spot on b2b including OT and if they win it will be close in my opinion .”

Brad Thomas (@MrBradThomas) expects Boston to cover: Boston Celtics -5
“The Celtics played horribly in a game of rest for the Clippers and a big look ahead. I don’t think the Lakers’ offense is good enough to keep this one close.”

Please rate responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.

Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under for each game on the NBA calendar based on data points such as recent performance, head-to-head player matchups, trend information and projected game totals.

Once the model has finished running, we set its projections against the most recent bet lines in order for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each bet.

Here are the best bets our model provides for today’s Celtics & Lakers game:

• Money line: NBC Sports Bet stays away from a bet on the Moneyline.
• Spread: NBC Sports Bet leans a game ATS on the Los Angeles Lakers at +6.
• Total: NBC Sports Bet stays away from a game on Game Total of 222.

Want even more NBA best picks and predictions from our expert staff and tools? Check out Expert NBA Prediction Site from NBC Sports for the moneyline, spread and over/under picks for every game on today’s calendar!

Important stats, trends and insights to know ahead of Celtics vs. Lakers on Thursday

• The Lakers have won 3 home games in a row
• 14 of the Celtics’ last 17 road games went UNDER the total
• The Lakers are 12-9 ATS at home this season
• The Celtics have won 4 of their last 5 against Western Conference teams

If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for each game on the schedule today, check out our NBA Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!

Bet Edge is your source for all sports betting. Get all of Jay Croucher and Drew Dinsick’s insights weekdays at 6 a.m. ET right here or wherever you get your favorite podcasts.

Follow our experts on social media to keep up with all the latest content from the staff:
– Jay Croucher (@croucherJD)
– Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper)
– Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports)
– Brad Thomas (@MrBradThomas)