Los Angeles Lakers vs Oklahoma City Thunder betting tips and predictions for Tuesday’s NBA game on TNT. History could be made tonight at crypto.com Arena as the Lakers host the Thunder in the first of three meetings this season. Read on for all our free predictions and betting tips.
Los Angeles Lakers
Lebron James is just 36 points away from becoming the NBA’s all-time scoring leader. He is bound to break that record in one of the upcoming two games vs OKC and the Bucks on Thursday, the question is when? I feel like it would make more sense to do it vs Milwaukee as that’s the team where Kareem Abdul-Jabbar made his name at, so I’ll be curious to see what kind of approach James has in tonight’s game.
Scoring 36 points isn’t easy, but he’s had so many memorable performances already this season that it’s not really out of the question. The Lakers have a favorable match-up here, OKC just lost big time at Golden State and they’re playing their 2nd game in 2 nights here. In the last 10 meetings it’s been all LA with 7 wins and just 3 losses.
Oklahoma City Thunder
Klay Thompson just torched the Thunder with 12 threes, in last night’s 141-114 win for the defending champions. The Thunder have been very inconsistent as of late, losing to the likes of Houston, Atlanta and Golden State (twice), so I’m not expecting much from them in tonight’s game. In their last 2 games vs the Lakers they’ve lost both times by double digits, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is their only hope of getting a good result ahead of this game.
SGA had only 20 points last night, but he’s scored 30 or more points in 6 of 8 games, so you can never discount him, at least on offense. Defensively though, the Thunder are one of the worst teams in the NBA right now. They’ve allowed 141, 121, 128 and 137 points in 4 of their last 6 games.
Even if Lebron doesn’t break the record, his Lakers should dominate here. They are just coming home after a tough 5-game road trip, I expect them to come out with a lot of energy here. Anthony Davis will be a match-up nightmare, he should also have a big night. Back the Lakers to cover.
Los Angeles Lakers vs Oklahoma City Thunder Predictions & Odds
I’ve mentioned the defensive numbers of the Thunder lately, it all comes down to pace of play when betting on tonight’s game. The last 3 meetings head-to-head have all gone under the total, but I wouldn’t pay too much attention to that as tonight’s game is totally different than all 3 of those. The Lakers and Thunder rank 1st and 3rd in pace of play this season, averaging 104 and 103.7 possessions per game.
That alone is a clear indicator of what style of play they prefer and that is to push the tempo and outscore your opponent as much as possible. LA has seen more than 237.5 points in 3 of their last 5 games, while the Thunder have done so in 4 of their last 6. Over their last 3 games both teams are struggling heavily with paint defense, allowing the 6th and 2nd highest amount of points per game in the NBA. I’m rarely confident in a pick as I am in this one, back the over with confidence here.
