Both the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors were active in the trade market on Wednesday night ahead of their matchup on trade deadline day – Thursday, Feb. 6. 

Golden State made a massive splash, flipping Andrew Wiggins, Dennis Schroder, Kyle Anderson and Lindy Waters III for Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler. Unfortunately, the trade happened right before Golden State’s game on Wednesday, and it was upset by the Utah Jazz. 

The Warriors have not listed an injury report for Thursday as of this writing, but it may be tough to ask Butler to suit up with the trade pending.

Meanwhile, the Lakers made their latest move since adding Luka Doncic over the weekend. Los Angeles traded rookie Dalton Knecht, veteran Cam Reddish, a 2030 pick swap and its 2031 first-round pick to the Charlotte Hornets for big man Mark Williams. 

Williams – a first-round pick in the 2022 NBA Draft – fixes the Lakers’ need at center and could be a piece for the long haul in L.A. After the trade, the Lakers moved from +1800 to +1600 to win the NBA Finals this season.

On Thursday, the Lakers find themselves as major favorites at home against Golden State. While Doncic isn’t expected to play, Los Angeles has been on fire as of late, winning three games in a row and eight of its last 10. 

Here’s a breakdown of the odds, players to watch in the prop market and my prediction for Thursday’s showdown. 

Spread

Moneyline

Total

Warriors Injury Report

Lakers Injury Report

Golden State Warriors Best NBA Prop Bet

With the Warriors trading away Andrew Wiggins and Dennis Schroder, Podziemski’s role has increased immediately sans Jimmy Butler.

On Wednesday, Podz had 29 points (on 8-of-18 shooting), six rebounds and four assists for Golden State, easily clearing this number. He’s cleared this prop in three of seven games since returning to the lineup from an injury.

With the Warriors likely shorthanded on the second night of a back-to-back, I’d expect Podziemski to get up double-digit shot attempts once again on Thursday – giving him a great floor to clear this prop. 

Los Angeles Lakers Best NBA Prop Bet

Even though Hayes has been the Lakers’ starting center for the last few games, he only has cleared 6.5 rebounds in one of his last four games.

The Lakers haven’t played Hayes more than 25 minutes in any of those games, and they may not need him on the floor a ton on Thursday against a Golden State team that usually plays small. 

While the Warriors are in the bottom 10 in the NBA in opponent rebounds per game this season, this isn’t a great matchup for Hayes to play big minutes. He’s put up just six, two, 10 and three boards over his last four games. 

So far this season, the Lakers and Warriors have played two games that have gone OVER this total, and I think we’re getting a little bit of a discount on this number because of all the moving pieces on both teams.

The Warriors combined for 259 points in Wednesday’s loss to Utah, and they rank just 21st in the NBA in defensive rating (116.9) over their last 10 games. 

That’s a major step back from their season long defensive rating (112.1) which ranks 10th in the NBA. 

While it’ll be important to make sure Steph Curry suits up on the second night of a back-to-back for Golden State, I do think these teams will play a higher-scoring matchup. 

Los Angeles doesn’t have much rim protection until this deal for Williams is completed, but it does have a top-10 offensive rating in the 2024-25 season.

Plus, the Lakers have scored at least 112 points in five of their last six games, clearing this total (221.5) in four of them. 

Golden State’s offense is the biggest concern here, but given the Warriors slip on the other end of the floor, 222 combined points should not be a tough number to reach. 

Pick: OVER 221.5 (-112 via DraftKings Sportsbook)

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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Find Peter Dewey’s NBA betting record here (futures included). You can also follow my daily plays on  BetStamp here.

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