LeBron James turned 41 years young on Tuesday, and I had to include the birthday celebrant in my Detroit Pistons vs. Los Angeles Lakers predictions.
The pregame narrative: LeBron has been on a scoring binge recently after a slow start to the year. With a pair of key absences on the Lakers' side, look for the King to fill the net.
Check out my Pistons vs. Lakers SGP predictions for Dec. 30, featuring a prop bet on Duncan Robinson.
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Pistons vs. Lakers predictions
Parlay: Pistons ML | LeBron 20+ points | Robinson 3+ threes (+310)
Pistons ML (-137): The Pistons just lost by 13 points to the lowly Los Angeles Clippers two nights ago, but I'm willing to look past that. After all, the Lakers lost by 15 to the very same Clippers back on Dec. 20.
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What I like about Detroit tonight is that the team has been far better than L.A. in December.
Over 12 games this month, the Pistons are 8-4 with the fifth-best net rating in the NBA (+6.4).
The Lakers, meanwhile, are 5-6 this month with a -6.7 net rating (26th in the NBA).
Detroit won outright as an underdog in both matchups against L.A. last season. Tonight, the Lakers are missing a pair of starters, Austin Reaves (26.6 PPG) and Rui Hachimura (44.5 3PT%).
NBA SGP legs
LeBron 20+ points (-245): North of 40, LeBron still has it.
His 23rd NBA season got off to a rocky start, as LeBron missed L.A.'s first 14 games due to injury. In his first six games back, he averaged a modest 14.0 PPG and snapped his record 1,297-game streak of scoring at least 10 points.
But since then, LeBron has reminded everyone that he still has the upper hand on Father Time.
- Over his past eight games, LeBron is averaging 25.4 PPG.
- He has 18+ points in eight straight, going 6-2 vs. this milestone in that span.
-> Back LeBron tonight in L.A.
The recent scoring surge is probably a combination of Reaves' absence and LeBron finally being fully ramped up. The King is a very strong pick to hit this points target tonight.
In his past 10 games without Reaves, dating back to December 2024, LeBron is averaging 27.0 PPG.
Robinson 3+ threes (-157): The Pistons brought Robinson in to be their go-to shooter from beyond the arc, and that's exactly what he's been.
The former Michigan Wolverine is shooting 38.7% from deep on 7.4 attempts per game. That equates to an average of 2.9 made 3s.
Robinson is 21-9 vs. this prop and has cashed it in four of his past five games.
I expect more of the same tonight against the Lakers, who allow the second-highest opponent 3PT% (38.1).
Pistons vs. Lakers predictions made at 12:05 p.m. on Dec. 30, 2025.
