The Los Angeles Lakers will take on the banged-up and struggling Philadelphia 76ers Friday night inside the cyrpto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA. They tip it off late on the West Coast at 10:30 p.m. 

Bookmaker has installed the Lakers as a solid 8.5-point favorite. 

The Lakers (37-32) have hung in there despite inconsistent play on both sides of the floor. The Lakers are an aging team trying to milk veteran and future HOF'er LeBron James for as much as he has left in the tank.

Even at his advanced age on the floor of 39 years old, James is still netting around 26 a game to go along with seven plus rebounds a contest. The offense still runs through him, but the lack of depth has been an issue for the Lakers this season.

Los Angeles also looks to power forward Anthony Davis to manufacture points and be the rim protector they need going forward. Davis is averaging around 12 rebounds per contest. He gives James some much-needed help when he can. The Lakers are not the best or most accurate shooting team out there. They connect on 56% from the floor and will need to try to get the ball inside to Davis on the low block. 

The 76ers are like the Lakers in the sense that they deal with injuries and inconsistent play. The 76ers have had to deal with the loss of franchise player and center Joel Embiid, who has missed a lot of time this season and has been oft-injured throughout his career. They have dropped six of nine overall and need him back soon. 

He can and has been as dominant as any star in the league when he is on the floor. He has only played in 34 games this season, but when he does play, he is averaging around 35 a game, and he is the bulk of the 76ers' offense and the heart and soul of the franchise. He has been dealing with a knee issue and is not ready to return to the hardwood. 

When he is not on the floor, they turn to budding star Tyrese Maxey, who is contributing 25.7 points per game. If the 76ers can lock down Davis and James, win the battle on the boards, and try to get some easy transitional buckets, they can keep it close. They are only 17-16 on the road this season and have had some tough and rough losses away from Philadelphia. 

The Lakers are 3-2 in their last five games and 3-2 in their previous five games against the spread too. They are also 13-19 in their road games against the number. The totals have gone over in four out of their last five games and 18 out of their last 38 games at home. The 76ers are 2-3 in their previous five games and 2-3 in their last five games against the number. They are 17-16 in their road games against the spread too. The totals have gone over in none out of their last five games.