Lakers vs Warriors Picks, Prediction Today | Saturday, Jan. 27

Here's everything you need to know about Lakers vs. Warriors on Saturday, Jan. 27 — our expert prediction and betting picks for today.

Searching for some form as we enter the month of February, the Warriors will look to build off of an encouraging couple of games and earn a big win over the Lakers in front of a national audience on Saturday night.

Can Golden State's offense stay hot against a slumping Lakers defense? Let's get to our Lakers vs. Warriors prediction and pick.

The Lakers have now managed to win four of their last six games, but there are still plenty of problems mounting for this team as they look to rise above .500 and get themselves back into position to contend for a playoff spot.

L.A.'s defense has been an issue all season, but over the last 10 games this team ranks just 22nd on that end of the floor as it slips closer to the bottom half of the NBA. The biggest issue for the visitors here has been its defense around the perimeter, ranking 21st against the three according to Cleaning the Glass, and shockingly it is also 21st in defending the rim. The Lakers had actually done a decent job defending the mid-range jumper, but even that area of the floor has become a problem since the calendar turner to January.

The Lakers offense is also in a bad spot here with Cam Reddish set to miss this tilt with an ankle injury. They've actually tried to force the issue a bit more from  long range over the last month, and without one of their better scorers on the wing things could get tricky. Still, as we'll get to in just a moment, it's not as if the Warriors have been able to get a ton of stops.

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The Warriors have been a team built around their offense this season, but over the last few weeks they've taken that to an extreme. As it stands over the last 10 games, they own the worst defense in the NBA, and the reason has been their cratering numbers in defending beyond the arc. Golden State had already had its fair share of troubles defending in the frontcourt, so this is an incredibly concerning trend.

Still, there are plenty of good things to say about the way this offense has begun to click. They currently have a top-five efficiency rating on that end, and things should remain steady now that Draymond Green has returned from his suspension. We know that the Warriors love to shoot the long ball — there are just eight teams in the NBA who do so more frequently — and according to Cleaning the Glass they've knocked down just under 40% of these looks over the last month.

It's worth noting that Moses Moody has still not returned after his calf strain — and while he's played sparingly this season he was proving to be a solid contributor just before he went down. Gary Payton II will also be missing again as he deals with a hamstring issue.

Ordinarily, I'd be quick to back the Lakers against one of the worst rim defenses in the NBA, but this matchup has a different tune to it. Their 3-point defense has continued to get them into trouble over the last two months of play, and against a Warriors team that loves to shoot from outside — and has done so with plenty of success lately — I don't think there's enough this offense can do to keep up in this one.

Golden State has shown marginal improvement on defense with Green returning, and I expect things to slowly work themselves back to normal on that end over the next few weeks. It also helps that the Lakers have been hell-bent on shooting more from the mid-range and three-point range over the last month, which should play right into the home team's hands here.

The Warriors may have nightmarish numbers against the spread this season, but the Lakers are just 2-6 ATS as road favorites this season and 8-13 ATS in all road games. I expect Golden State's hot shooting to continue here, and it should be too much for L.A. to overcome.

Pick: Warriors -1.5 (-110)

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