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Lakers a great 'under' bet in 2nd half of back-to-backs

Bob Levey / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The Los Angeles Lakers have been a treasure trove for bettors this season for all the wrong reasons.

At 27-39-2 against the spread, they're tied with the Golden State Warriors for worst in the NBA. Despite a LeBron James-led offense coupled with a lazy defensive unit, the Lakers are also the league's best 'under' team at 27-40-1 this season.

Bettors have another shot at capitalizing on the Lakers when they play the Detroit Pistons on Friday night: Taking the under when Los Angeles is in the second game of a back-to-back.

Line: Detroit -11
Total: 217
Time: 7 p.m. ET

Coming off a Thursday night road game against the Toronto Raptors, this will be the 12th contest the Lakers play in 2019 with zero days of rest. They head into this one 8-1-1 to the under this season, falling short by an average of 8.0 points against the closing total.

Lakers Opponent Total Score Closing Total Result
109 118 227 235 Under
107 97 204 222.5 Under
107 118 225 229 Under
110 128 238 231.5 Over
111 88 199 209 Under
104 103 207 213.5 Under
113 97 210 225 Under
107 106 213 237.5 Under
121 114 235 235 Push

The Lakers are scoring an average of 109.6 points per game and allowing an even 109.0 on zero days' rest, both down from their regular-season averages of 112.0 and 113.9, respectively.

They'll figure to have another tough offensive matchup Friday against the Pistons, who rank in the NBA's top eight in both points allowed per game (107.4) and opponents' three-point field goal percentage (35.2). Detroit has also gone under the total in 10 of its previous 12 games against Western Conference teams.

Los Angeles ranks in the bottom half of the NBA in points per game and is one of the worst three-point shooting teams at 33.2 percent. Following a straight-up loss - as they are Friday after their 111-98 loss to the Raptors - the Lakers are on a 19-10 run to the under.

After their tilt with the Pistons, the Lakers will play one more contest with zero days' rest: a March 27 road game against the Utah Jazz.

Alex Kolodziej is theScore's betting writer. He's a graduate of Eastern Illinois who has been involved in the sports betting industry for 11 years. He can quote every line from "Rounders" and appreciates franchises that regularly wear alternate jerseys. Find him on Twitter @AlexKoIodziej.

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