Los Angeles Lakers vs Portland Trail Blazers Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 01/17/26

Deandre Ayton, Luka Doncic, Jaxson Hayes and Austin Reaves are all expected to miss the Lakers’ game in Portland on Saturday. It’s been a tough stretch for JJ Redick and his men, they’ve won only once in 4 games and have covered the spread in only 1 of those games. It’ll be up to 41-year old LeBron James to lead the charge here, you have to wonder if that is a viable option against one of the more surprising teams in the NBA this season. The Lakers do have a positive head-to-head record vs Portland, but lately they’ve not done so well on the road, going just 1-5 ATS in 6 outings.

The Trail Blazers too could be shorthanded here as Deni Avdija is expected to miss only his 3rd game of the season. Unlike Luka though, he hasn’t been ruled out officially, so there is a chance he overcomes his back injury and plays. That’d be a massive boost for Portland, but even without him they were able to dispose of the Atlanta Hawks in their last game without (m)any issues. This team does not lose often in home games, in fact they have a winning 11-10 SU record in 21 outings at Moda Center. They’ve also covered in 6 of their last 7 in this building, while against Pacific Division opponents they are 4-2 SU in 6 games overall.

Playing without the engine of their team could be really problematic for the Lakers. I’m sure LeBron will put up numbers, but I am not encouraged at all after seeing the Lakers allow 135 and 124 points to the Hornets and Kings in 2 of their last 3 games. I’ll side with the more stable Trail Blazers team here.

LA Lakers vs Portland Trail Blazers Predictions: Trail Blazers -3.5 is available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.