NBA Opening Night: Frank starts the season by picking the new-look L.A. Lakers, hello Anthony Davis, vs the new-look L.A. Clippers, hi Kawhi

Lakers (-3.5) @ Clippers (223.5)

Pick: Clippers ML +138

Paul George won’t play tonight for the Clippers. Oddly enough, I’m not sure that matters as much as it might if George was missing a game in the middle of the season. The Clippers competed until the bitter end last year in the first round against Golden State. They had the right coach in Doc Rivers and role players in place already and added the stars in the summer with the trade for George and the signing of Kawhi Leonard. With George sidelined, our play tonight is more on the cohesion and chemistry of the Clippers winning out against a Lakers team that traded the house for Anthony Davis in the summer and is without Kyle Kuzma in its first game. For a season opener, teams having familiarity with their roster is probably something to factor into a handicap and the Lakers are quite a bit different than they were in 2018-19. The Clippers also have the best player in this game in Leonard and we get them at a plus price on the money line. We’ll forego the points here and take the Clippers to win outright.

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