The NBA has a pretty busy schedule on Thursday night. In one game, the Los Angeles Lakers and the OKC Thunder will square off (8:00 PM ET/5 PM PT). The Thunder are favored in the game at -7.0 (bet365) as they have caught the Lakers at the backend of a back-to-back set. My Lakers vs Thunder prediction is that this game will have a good scoring pace and that the total points will go OVER the betting projection.
Los Angeles vs OKC Prediction: Recent NBA News
The Los Angeles Lakers dismantled the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night. The final score was 133-107 with D'Angelo Russell going +31 for point differential in part due to his 35 points in the game.
The Lakers started the day with some significant injury concerns in their starting lineup but received a good performance from both Anthony Davis and LeBron James. The big-spread victory allowed LA to limit the minutes at the front end of their depth chart, meaning they might not be in a terrible position for the game against OKC.
Double-check for playing status updates with Los Angeles (23:29 ET time of writing):: Team's Depth Chart
The Thunder last played on Tuesday night, a game that they lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The game was the second loss for the Thunder in as many games. Over the weekend, they fell to the Philadelphia 76ers. The Thunder are at a tough part of their schedule right now and the losses could be attributed to that as opposed to a dip in form out of OKC. They went -7 on net point differential in the two losses combined so it's not like they got blown out in either game.
OKC enters Thursday with a clear depth chart as of late on Wednesday night. There probably won't be any negative updates on Thursday due to the fact that Wednesday was an off day for the team. If anything, you have to expect the LA Lakers to have some updates. They seem to have injury problems after every game, a lot of which are fluff.
Double-check for playing status updates with OKC (23:29 ET time of writing):: Team's Depth Chart
Lakers vs Thunder Prediction: Betting Tips
The oddsmakers have forked this game for the popular markets, meaning you can't go either way with any confidence. OKC is -7.0 (bet365) and that is where they should be in this game. If anything, bettors should be taking the OVER in this game for total points at 229.0 and odds of -110. OKC should be full throttle with a clear depth chart. The Lakers might keep things close because they managed their minutes well on Wednesday night. They should have good energy on Thursday accordingly.
My recommendation is to take the OVER with the expectation that OKC will be pushed a little in this game. That should mean their starting lineup with get a lot of minutes and a decent scoring rate should result.
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