The Lakers have caught a late-season surge as they look to climb up the standings, and Rui Hachimura has played a huge part in that. With the Wizards likely to provide little resistance, our NBA picks love Rui to keep up the scoring.
The Los Angeles Lakers continue their Eastern Conference tour when they head to the nation’s capital to face the Washington Wizards tonight as NBA odds favorites.
It’s a quick turnaround for LeBron James and the Lakers who rolled over Toronto last night. That blowout allowed L.A. to rest James and other key starters ahead of what will be Los Angeles’ third game in four days.
Washington is also playing the second of back-to-back games after stunning Milwaukee as a 12.5-point home underdog Tuesday. The Wiz, who are just playing out the schedule at the bottom of the East, are running very thin and could be without several key players tonight.
size up the spread and Over/Under total for this non-conference contest and give my best NBA picks for the Lakers vs. Wizards on April 3.
It’s a homecoming of sorts for Los Angeles Lakers’ forward Rui Hachimura when the Lake Show rolls into D.C. to face his former team.
Hachimura, who was traded from Washington to L.A. in January 2023, has been a big part of this team’s late-season surge.
The Gonzaga product averaged more than 17 points on 59% shooting throughout March, garnering a secure spot in the starting lineup and bringing with it an uptick in floor time.
He opened April with 6-for-9 night from the field and 14 points over 26 minutes in the one-sided win at Toronto on Tuesday.
Hachimura’s scoring prop for tonight’s game against the Washington Wizards has a Over/Under of 13.5 points (Over -115), which is a bar Rui has topped in five straight outings and in 11 of his last dozen games.
The Wizards aren’t provided much pushback for their former standout small forward. Washington is 28th in advanced defensive rating and allowing almost 123 points against per game — dead last in the league.
The Wiz are potentially playing without a number of key bodies tonight and are ripe for a letdown after upsetting Milwaukee as 12.5-point home pups last night.