SEASON FORECASTS AND FUTURES PICKS

Oddsmakers give them the 2nd best chance of winning the championship despite being 5th in the West in projected regular season wins. If they are fully healthy they are our Computer Model's #1 team. But with likely load management and injuries for LeBron and Anthony Davis we do not project them to have home court advantage in the West Finals or NBA Finals which hurts their chances of winning it all. Their odds to win it all are 4/1, 20% (#2). They are not a good bet to win the championship. Their 13.4% chance is #3 in the league. In simulations, they win the West 22.1% of the time and are not a good value at 9/4, 30.8%. The Lakers are averaging 50.6 wins per sim which makes them a decent bet to win over 50 games. At -800 the Lakers are a good value to make the playoffs with a 98% chance. Their odds of winning their division are 3/1, 25%. They win the division in 29.5% of simulations. Their average wins per simulation puts them at #2 in the West.

For winning picks against the spread, total and money line for all NBA games by our proven computer model and leading handicappers visit SportsLine.com where you can also get fantasy basketball and daily fantasy optimal lineups from CBSSports' Top Experts.

REGULAR SEASON RECAP AND UPCOMING GAMES

They were expected to win 47% of their games last season so their 37-45 met expectations. They were not good against the spread going 35-46-1 (-1560 loss). More of their games came in under (49) than went over (32). Based on computer simulations they only have a 47% chance to beat the Clippers in their next game. The table below shows their upcoming games, their simulation based win percentage and their recent head to head record (WL, ATS, OU).

TEAM STATISTICAL STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

SHOOTING (AVERAGE): Their true FG% is 55.5% (#16 in League). They average 111.8 pts per game vs an expected average (based on pre-game odds) of 113.4. On the road they average 112.5 (112.4 expected), and at home 111 ppg (114.4 expected).

DEFENSE (STRENGTH): They are an above average defensive team holding opponents to 55.1 true FG% (#9 in League). They allow 113.5 pts per game vs an expected value of 114.3. They are allowing 115.8 (115 expected) on the road, and at home 111.2 ppg (113.6 expected).

REBOUNDING (BELOW AVERAGE): They are slightly outrebounded by opponents by 0.1 per game (#15 in league).

TURNOVERS (WEAKNESS): Their average turnover margin is -1.9 per game (#28 in league).

TEAM FANTASY LEADERS

The table below show the most valuable fantasy players on the team led by LeBron James who is projected to be the #2 Forward. The Better Option column shows the player directly above him and the Better Than column shows the player directly below him in the projected position rankings.