Caesar’s. As a Knicks fan, this one hurts. But the Lakers have become a brutal spot for opposing point-guards/ball-handlers. Over the last 15 games, the Lakers have allowed the fifth fewest PRA to opposing point guards. And overall, they rank 3rd in points allowed to pick and roll ball-handlers. Against teams in the top 15 against the pick and roll, Brunson is under in 14/22 games played alongside Karl-Anthony Towns. Similar to their last meeting (Brunson had 26 PRA in 40 minutes), I expect the Lakers to blitz the Knicks All Star at the point of attack. Over the last few games, the Lakers have held CJ McCollum, James Harden (twice), and Anthony Edwards under their PRA line.

While we continue to mull the curious dynamics of the Luka Doncic trade. It's now seven wins on the spin for the Lakers, who have also won nine straight over teams with .500 or better records. They also took care of the Knicks pre-Luka by a 128-112 count on Feb. 1 at MSG when LeBron dominated with a 33-11-12 triple-double. Meanwhile, Karl-Anthony Towns is apparently back in action tonight for NY after missing the loss to the Warriors on Tuesday. We don't think the Knicks regain a needed hard edge though until Mitchell Robinson gets up to speed (limited minutes vs. the Heat and Dubs this week, but not sure status tonight as he plays it careful in his return from ankle surgery). Play Lakers.

OG Anunoby is dealing with a sprained left thumb and is questionable. When he's off the court, Mikal Bridges sees an uptick in usage and rebounding. Bridges has grabbed four rebounds in consecutive games and likely will play 35-plus minutes Thursday. The Lakers, who won't have 6-8 Rui Hachimura, give up the 10th-most rebounds to opposing small forwards.

OG Anunoby has seen his scoring trend upward each of the last four games. He’s put in 16, 19, 23, and 29 points. Tonight will be an opportune matchup against a Lakers team he was on track for a breakout game on February 1st. He went 5 for 7 from the floor with 13 points before exiting after just 17 minutes with an injury. Take Anunoby even as a third scoring option to excel for the Knicks tonight.

LeBron James has averaged 28.7 points over his last 13 games. During that span, he scored at least 26 points in a game nine times. That included a game against the Knicks in which he scored 33 points. Further helping the case for this over is that the game will be played in Los Angeles. LeBron is averaging 25.3 points per game and shooting 53.6% from the field at home this season, compared to 24.6 points per game and 50.3% shooting from the field on the road.

Knicks are overrated. They got rocked by the Lakers at The Garden last month and will have no answers for them here. Lakers have top D rating in NBA last 15 games and Knicks' offense has gotten predictable. Knicks are 22nd in D rating last 15 games with a negative net rating. Knicks 3-6 ATS as a road dog and 1-7 ATS last 8 overall. Lakers 12-3 ATS last 15, 9-2 ATS last 11. Have covered 4 straight at home. Last 3 weeks only had letdowns vs CHA and UTA. LBJ and Luka are up for big games. This qualifies.