All eyes will be on Luka Doncic as he makes his debut for the Los Angeles Lakers against the Utah Jazz.
The pregame narrative: I expect a big performance out of Doncic in his first game as a Laker. I’m taking the over on his points prop mixed with a pick on Walker Kessler and Lakers ATS in this +300 SGP.
Check out my Jazz vs. Lakers same-game parlay predictions for Feb. 10.
Jazz vs. Lakers predictions
Parlay: Lakers -8.5 | Doncic 27+ points | Kessler 10+ rebounds (+300)
Lakers -8.5 (-225): Without LeBron James and Doncic active on Saturday, the Lakers handled business at home, beating the Indiana Pacers 124-117.
L.A. is on an impressive five-game win streak with big victories against the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers and New York Knicks along the way.
It covered this spread in three of those five games and gets a soft matchup against the Jazz.
Utah is a dreadful 7-21 on the road. Meanwhile, the Lakers have one of the better home records in the NBA at 18-6.
Even if LeBron were to miss his second straight contest, I believe the Lakers will win big on Monday.
SGP legs
Doncic 27+ points (-132): My whole sports brain tells me Luka will go off in his first game in a Lakers uniform.
His departure from the Dallas Mavericks wasn’t the prettiest. He was unexpectedly traded before his conditioning was put into question by the Mavericks’ management and the NBA media.
Doncic has been the victim of injuries this season and it resulted in the superstar averaging under 30 points (28.1) for the first time since 2021-22.
He also gets a prime matchup to get back up to speed.
The Jazz give up the third most points to point guards (25.8), per Fantasy Pros. They also own the second-worst defensive rating (120.3).
Expect Doncic to remind everyone why he should have never been traded.
Kessler 10+ rebounds (-226): With the Lakers’ trade to acquire Mark Williams falling through, the squad still has a serious hole at the centre position.
Jaxon Hayes, who averages 17.8 minutes a night, has been forced into the starting role. That’s not something he’s used to during his career.
Hayes is serviceable but there’s a clear advantage for opposing bigs at the rim and Kessler is the gold standard for under-the-basket centres.
He has 10-plus rebounds in 12 of his last 14 games. He is also coming off a 22-rebound performance over the Phoenix Suns.
Kessler is averaging a double-double (11.2 PPG, 11.9 RPG) this season and has played 33 or more minutes in four consecutive games.
Picks made at 11:20 a.m. ET 02/10/2025
Spencer is a true sports junkie. A graduate of the Sports Journalism program at Centennial College, he first joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2023. He is now a contributing writer. He loves finding the edge to bet on in all sports but has a deep passion for the NBA and UFC. Previous stops include Sportsnet.