Los Angeles Lakers vs Los Angeles Clippers Pick & Prediction - 1/22/2026
Updated July 9, 2026
Thursday night’s NBA schedule includes a Los Angeles rivalry game as the Los Angeles Lakers go to Inglewood to take on the Los Angeles Clippers. This contest features two teams that are in the top 10 in the Western Conference standings and both teams will be looking to protect its positioning and improve its place in the standings going forward. Here, I've broken down this matchup in the Western Conference and you will find my Lakers vs Clippers prediction below.
Pick: Los Angeles Clippers -1.5
Confidence: 4/5
Both teams are entering this rivalry with significant injury concerns shaping their rotations. For the Clippers, forward Kawhi Leonard remains listed as day-to-day with a knee issue and his participation for Thursday is uncertain. Leonard’s presence or absence will be one of the pivotal factors for bettors to monitor because, when he’s healthy, he provides elite two-way contributions. The Clippers also continue to be without Bradley Beal for the season and Derrick Jones Jr. remains sidelined, limiting their options.
The Lakers are dealing with their own injury challenges, as Austin Reaves remains out with calf soreness and Adou Thiero is sidelined with an MCL sprain. Center Deandre Ayton is also day-to-day, which could be a problem against Ivica Zubac on the interior. Both teams have had to shuffle lineups in recent games, which adds variance to any projections.
Both teams have won the majority of their last five games coming into this matchup. The Clippers have won four of their last five games, but had their winning streak snapped in their last outing by the Chicago Bulls. The Lakers are 3-2 in their last five games and have scored back-to-back wins over the Nuggets and Raptors. But only one of these crosstown rivals will get a win on Thursday night.
Score Projection: Lakers 114 – Clippers 118
Win Probability: Lakers 42%, Clippers 58%
This Los Angeles rivalry game is going to be a good one and should come down to the wire. I would advise bettors to keep an eye on the status of Kawhi Leonard leading up to tip-off, as the Clippers would go from being a decent bet to being a bad bet if he was to sit out. But with Leonard not yet ruled out, I'd lean toward the Clippers to win and cover the spread in this contest from Intuit Dome.
Jay Sanin is the GM and Head of Sports at ATS.io. He has been writing about sports gambling since 2013, handicapping tens of thousands of sporting events. He plays sides and totals aggressively across most sports and is more selective in player prop markets. He does his own modeling across most sports, and his family is jealous of how much time he spends on his precious spreadsheets.
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