This is a 10* on UNDER

With LeBron James “hopeful” to play, handicapping this game might seem like a challenge. Sources say it’s a “50-50 chance” that James will be on the court Friday night as the Lakers take on the Celtics. Our view is that whether he plays or not, the game is going to stay Under the total. That’s the way Boston’s last three games have gone with the Celtics scoring less than 100 in all of them. Now the three games were all on the road. But the team doesn’t average more points/game here at home. In fact, it averages slightly less. The Lakers, 3-5 without James, have been held to 104 points or less in the five losses. Speaking of injuries, Boston is still without Jaylen Brown. We do expect the Celtics to “tighten the screws” a bit defensively after allowing the Hawks to shoot 50.6% on Wednesday. The Under is 10-1 in the Lakers’ last 11 Friday games. If James does happen to play tonight, it’s unlikely that he’ll be all that effective, coming off a long layoff. Play on UNDER

AAA