Morning Coffee: Lakers, Clippers set for critical showdown

The Los Angeles Lakers closed as an 11-point favourite against the Utah Jazz at FanDuel on Tuesday night.

The Lakers led by 10 points with 1:43 left in the fourth quarter, but the Jazz rallied to tie it with 11 seconds left in regulation and force overtime.

Fortunately for anyone who had L.A. as the final leg of their money line parlay, the Lakers did just enough to scratch out a 135-133 win.

LeBron James scored nine of L.A.’s 11 points in the extra frame and finished with 37 points to lead his team to their fourth straight win.

The Lakers have won 11 of their past 15 games overall. With a win tonight against the rival Clippers, they’ll move into a top-six seed in the Western Conference.

Can the Lakers take care of business tonight and move into a playoff spot?

Based on their recent history against their L.A. rival, I’m not rushing to bet on the Lakers as a road underdog tonight.

This is the Morning Coffee for Wednesday, April 5, 2023.

Lakers, Clippers set for critical showdown

It wasn’t that long ago that the idea of the Lakers clinching a top-six seed in the Western Conference was an afterthought.

L.A. was five games below .500 at the All-Star break. At the time, the Lakers were on the outside looking in on a play-in spot.

Even without LeBron and Anthony Davis for different stretches, L.A. has clawed its way into position to challenge for a top-six seed.

The Lakers have won four straight and 11 of their past 15 games overall to move into a tie with the Clippers at 41-38. They’re a half-game back of the Golden State Warriors at 42-38.

Tonight, the Lakers and Clippers will go head-to-head in a game that should decide the six seed, with both teams having only three games remaining on their regular-season schedule.

Considering their recent head-to-head history, it’s no surprise that FanDuel made the Clippers a four-point favourite.

The Clippers lead the season series 3-0 and have won 10 straight head-to-head meetings against the Lakers.

While LeBron and company have done what it takes to close the gap in the standings, they barely got past Utah last night, and they’ll concede the rest advantage against an opponent that has thrived against them.

The absence of Paul George makes me hesitant to rush to a side in tonight’s game, but I still lean towards the Clippers to win the game.

Embiid cements status as MVP favourite

The NBA regular-season MVP conversation has featured plenty of twists and turns throughout the year.

Joel Embiid might have put an end to it last night.

Embiid scored 52 of his team’s 103 points as the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Boston Celtics 103-101.

He also added 13 rebounds and six assists, while going 20-of-25 from the field in the victory.

According to ESPN Stats & Info, Embiid joined Michael Jordan as the only players in NBA history to score at least half of his team’s points while shooting at least 75 per cent from the field in the game.

He also joined Wilt Chamberlain as the only players in NBA history to finish with at least 50 points, 10 rebounds and five assists while shooting at least 80 per cent from the field in a game.

Embiid is now -600 to win NBA regular-season MVP at FanDuel.

Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo are both +850 to win that award at FanDuel this morning.

Blackhawks stun Flames as massive underdog

The Calgary Flames entered this week with zero room for error as they battled for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

After rallying to beat the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday night, the Flames were stunned by the Chicago Blackhawks in a 4-3 loss last night.

Chicago closed as a +350 money line underdog at FanDuel. Calgary was a -465 money line favourite.

As if the loss wasn’t bad enough, it came on a night when favourites absolutely dominated on the ice.

NHL favourites went a combined 9-2 straight up.

Next up, the Flames will limp into tonight’s contest with the Winnipeg Jets as a small underdog.

Calgary went from +205 to +540 to make the playoffs at FanDuel following last night’s loss.

The Jets moved from -250 to -600 to make the playoffs.