Bet on the Houston Rockets as Road Dogs vs the LA Lakers

• The Lakers come into tonight’s game as 4.5-point home favorites over the Rockets, currently sitting with an 18-10 record against the spread in such games
• Houston has been one of the best teams against the spread as road dogs, going 9-5-1 in such games thus far

LOS ANGELES – A marquee matchup is on the menu Monday night at Crypto.com Arena in LA as the Lakers host the Rockets in a Western Conference showdown. Houston currently sits as the two seed in the West with the Lakers 3.5 games back at the four seed.

Rockets vs Lakers Game Odds

Legal sports betting sites like the Lakers as 4.5-point favorites over Houston in LA.

The Lakers have protected home court all season long, going 28-9 in LA. Houston has been impressive on the road as well, with a 22-14 record away from home.

LeBron James returned to action on March 22nd after missing two weeks with a groin injury. He has averaged 19.2 points per game since coming back into the lineup, slightly lower than his season average of 24.5 points.

In the last five games since James’ return, the Lakers have gone 2-3. They return home tonight after splitting a four game road trip, beating Indiana and Memphis while losing to Orlando and Chicago.

The Lakers’ big acquisition in Luka Doncic has produced mild results thus far, with LA going 11-7 since the trade.

The main reason for this is the fact that they no longer have a starting caliber center after shipping away Anthony Davis. Jaxon Hayes is the only true big man who gets minutes, and he has only been playing about 20 minutes per game.

This will be an issue against Houston, as they will have to try to slow down Alperen Sengun, who has averaged 19.7 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. Houston also ranks 9th in the league in points in the paint, averaging 50.7 points in the paint per game.

Jalen Green leads the Rockets scoring attack, averaging 21.6 points per game on 42.6% from the field and 35.3% from the field. Green has quietly become one of the best scorers in the league and is in just his fourth season.

The Suns broadcast team speaking on Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun & basically their ability to dominate stretches for the #Rockets pic.twitter.com/fcUBfXagxj

— Don Dougan (@don_dougan) March 31, 2025

The Rockets won 12 of their last 13 games, including a nine game win streak before a loss to Denver. Houston has now won their last three consecutive games with the last two being on the road.

Game Picks

Realistically, it is somewhat surprising that the Rockets are not favored in this game, considering their recent play, especially on the road. Houston also won the first matchup against LA, winning 119-115 at home.

Take the Rockets to win outright with confidence at online NBA betting sites. Not only have they been playing great basketball for the last month, but they also match up well against the Lakers.

Take the over on points for this game as well. The Rockets have averaged 130 points per game in their last three and the Lakers have averaged 123.7 in that same span.

It is a small sample size, but it should continue tonight with both teams essentially at full health and the lack of rim protection on both sides.

News tags: Houston Rockets | LeBron James | Los Angeles Lakers | Luka Doncic | NBA