Milwaukee Bucks vs Los Angeles Lakers Prediction, Odds and Picks for Friday, 01/09/26

After splitting their first 2 games of this West Coast road trip, the Bucks are now in Los Angeles to take on the Lakers in what promises to be an exciting matchup. It usually is whenever Giannis Antetokounmpo and Luka Doncic square off, the Greek Freak has had the upper hand over the Slovenian superstar by winning 8 of the last 11 meetings between the 2 players. Not only that, but Giannis is also averaging 32.3 points, 11.5 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game in those contests. I can already picture the Lakers scrambling to contain Milwaukee’s best player. Another weapon the Bucks can use is their 3-point shooting — they rank second only behind the Nuggets in percentage of made 3s, while the Lakers allow 36.8% of 3s to go in (seventh highest in the NBA).

With 41-year old star LeBron James resting, the Lakers managed just 91 points in a blowout loss to the San Antonio Spurs a couple of nights ago, splitting the 2 games in this mini road trip. Now they are back at Crypto.com Arena, where they have won 10 of 16 games this season — with a strong chance of James suiting up for this game. Rui Hachimura could also make a comeback after being out for 12 days or so; they could definitely use his shooting ability and physicality in guarding Giannis. All the issues of the Lakers this season arise from their lack of discipline at the defensive end. Over the past 10 games they are allowing the fourth-highest opponent field goal percentage at 49.8% shots made.

I have very little confidence in the Lakers right now. Their 3-ball has been average at best over the past 5 games, and the most they have made during this stretch was 11 and they did it 4 times. Meanwhile, the Bucks are the healthier team and they have the best player on the court in Giannis, who is very motivated to get his team back in the playoff picture. I’ll take a gamble on the Bucks and back them to win outright.

Bucks vs Lakers prediction: Milwaukee ML (+135) available at time of publishing. Playable at that price.

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