The Oklahoma City Thunder and the Los Angeles Lakers will meet on Monday, March 4th, 2024 (10:40 PM ET/7:40 PM PT). This will be the late game in a six-game schedule for the NBA. The Lakers are favored in it at home at -1.0 (bet365) but the Thunder have won a lot of games lately. My Thunder vs Lakers prediction is that the former team will win this upcoming game.
NBA Matchup: Thunder vs Lakers
Away: Oklahoma City Thunder
Home: Los Angeles Lakers
Game time: Monday, March 4th, 2024 @ 10:40 PM ET
Thunder vs Lakers odds (home team's spread): -1.0 (bet365)
Oklahoma City vs Los Angeles Prediction: Latest NBA News
The OKC Thunder are 18-12 as an away team this season. The Thunder last played on Sunday, a game that was against the Phoenix Suns. OKC won the game 118-110 behind a dominant performance from their superstar, Shai Gilgeous Alexander. He had 35 points and flirted with a triple-double with 8 rebounds and 9 assists. SGA did log 38 minutes in the game, which is a big workload at the front end of a back-to-back set.
However, the 25-year-old has played well this season, even dealing with a condensed schedule. For instance, he scored 38 points at the backend of a two-game set on February 11th against Sacramento. He also scored 30 on February 23rd after logging 35 minutes the night before. I don't think he will be overly tired as MVP candidates like him generally have the ability to stay charged up even when the scheduling is a bit against them.
Oklahoma City Thunder: Recent Form Alert
Formerly: 35 - 17 heading into February 11th
Currently: 42 - 18 (overall)
Recent form: 7 - 1 since February 11th
Recent winning rate: .875
Oklahoma City Thunder injuries: recent news
As of late on Sunday, the OKC Thunder have a good depth chart for injuries. Only Jaylin Williams remains out but there could be updates with their ESPN depth chart on gameday. Bettors should be diligent with this team and check to see if anyone is downgraded on Monday morning/afternoon.
Double-check for playing status updates with Oklahoma City (02:22 ET time of writing): Team's Depth Chart
The Lakers last played on Saturday, a game that the team lost to the Denver Nuggets 124-114. Since the All-Star break, LA is 3-3. Two of their wins have come at the expense of two really weak teams, the San Antonio Spurs and the Washington Wizards. With this latter team, the game required going to overtime.
Against teams that one might compare to OKC, LA is 0-2 since the break, with losses to the Phoenix Suns and the Nuggets. The Lakers lost each of those games by 10 points. LA enters this game with a 33-29 on the season and will rest their chances on a decent home record so far this season. But there really is nothing all that remarkable about the Lakers this season.
Los Angeles Lakers injuries: recent news
LeBron James is questionable for the upcoming game with an ankle problem. He has been questionable numerous times this season but has still usually played. Meanwhile, Anthony Davis is probable for the game with an Achilles injury. He has usually played even when he has been listed as questionable so "probable" could be taken as "very probable."
Cam Reddish is also probable for the game while Christian Wood, according to his early injury report, is expected to be re-evaluated in the days ahead. All-in-all, it's not a bad injury report for the Lakers. It would be smart to check on this team throughout the day, especially for LA backers.
Double-check status updates Los Angeles (02:22 ET time of writing):: Team's Depth Chart
Thunder vs Lakers Prediction: Betting Tips
On head-to-heads so far this season, the Lakers are 2-1 against OKC. However, they are -7 on net points in the series so far this season.
In this game, I am partial to going with the Thunder. Their winning ways lately combined with LA's mediocrity make the Lakers hard to back. Furthermore, you do have to be a little worried that James won't play. He has missed eight games so far this season.
I like the +1.0 point on OKC better than any other bet for the game. The only difference between the handicap and the moneyline is that if OKC loses by 1, it's a push. Those that want to avoid that scenario could take the moneyline on OKC at -110 (bet365). The spread is coming in at -115 so there's just a small difference.
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