NBA 11/13/2023 Lakers vs Blazers

The Lakers return home after ending a four-game road trip with a 122-119 win over the Phoenix Suns on Friday. Six of their next seven games, including this one, will be at home, which will give them an opportunity to buttress their 4-5 record.

 They will go up against a rebuilding Portland team that is 3-5 on the season and is expected to be very short-handed.

After a rough start to their regular season schedule, the Lakers will finally get a bit of a respite, as many of their upcoming games over the next couple of weeks will be very winnable. This will certainly be one of them, as the Blazers are expected to be without Scoot Henderson, Malcolm Brogdon, Anfernee Simons and Robert Williams III.

 The Blazers come into this game last in points and offensive rating.

 As long as the Purple and Gold don’t play down to the level of their competition, and as long as they take care of their defensive backboards, they should win this one without too much trouble.

Match prediction: Lakers -9.5