Rockets vs Lakers prediction NBA · Saturday, April 18
At a glance
The Los Angeles Lakers (53-29) host the Houston Rockets (52-30) on Saturday, April 18 at 8:30 PM ET at crypto.com Arena in NBA action. Final score: Rockets 98 – Lakers 107. Before tip-off, the Basketlog model gave the Rockets a 52% chance to win: prediction missed. This season, the Lakers are 28-13 at home and the Rockets are 22-19 on the road. Over the last 10 games: 7-3 for the Lakers and 9-1 for the Rockets (current streaks: Lakers W3, Rockets W1).
The analysis Model
A wide-open game: the model barely separates the two teams. The model projects Lakers 114 – 115 Rockets, a margin of about 0.6 points in favor of the Rockets and a total around 228 points. Expect a game at a standard NBA pace.
- The Lakers need to win the pace battle to stay in the game.
- The Rockets' defense allows clearly fewer points (110.0 pts/game).
What tips the balance
Scenarios
Stat comparison Current season
HOULAL
Top performers
Rockets
Alperen SengunC · #2819pts / game
Reed SheppardG · #158assists
Jabari Smith Jr.F · #1012reboundsLakers
Luke KennardG · #827pts / game
LeBron JamesF · #2313assists
Deandre AytonC · #811reboundsRecent form
HOULAL
HOU
Team comparison
| HOU | LAL | |
|---|---|---|
| 52-30 | Record | 53-29 |
| 115.1 | Points scored / game | 116.0 |
| 110.0 | Points allowed / game | 114.3 |
| +4.4 | Adjusted margin / game | +1.4 |
| W1 | Current streak | W3 |
| 9-1 | Last 10 games | 7-3 |
| 22-19 road | Home / road record | 28-13 home |
| 52-30 (+4.5) | Last season | 50-32 (+1.2) |
| No | Played yesterday | No |
Injury report Rockets
Injury report Lakers
Probabilities estimated by the Basketlog model from available public data. They are neither a certainty nor betting advice.