L.A. Lakers at Oklahoma City
Time: 8:30 PM CT, TNT
Spread: OKC -10.5
Total: 227
Odds c/o 5dimes
The L.A. Lakers have won three of its last five, but tonight it hosts Oklahoma City in the second half of a TNT doubleheader. The Thunder are 10.5-point favorites over L.A. in this game, and the over/under is set at 227 points according to NBA oddsmakers at bookmaker 5dimes.
LAL
The Los Angeles Lakers are still without LeBron James, but balanced scoring provided the answer in a 107-100 victory over the Chicago Bulls last time out. Kyle Kuzma had 16, Brandon Ingram added 16, and Lonzo Ball and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 19 and 17, respectively—as the Lakers won without a single player eclipsing the 20-point mark. L.A. shot just 46 percent in the win, but it limited the Bulls to 40 percent shooting and won the battle of the boards 51-46.
With James unavailable, doing all the little things becomes ever more important. Kuzma can be transcendental in his own right at times, but without James, the Lakers lack a star, a No. 1 option, and it is now relying on the power of youth and chemistry to do the job.
Kuzma, for his part, has been great. The 6’9” forward has averaged 19.5 points per game and 6.8 rebounds over his last 10 games, and his 41-point eruption in the 113-100 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Jan. 9 was impressive. Kuz shot 16 of 24 in the game while knocking down 5 of 10 from three. He is unarguably the Lakers best offensive player outside of James, and now is his time to shine. Getting the best of Paul George (who presumably will cover him in this game) would be one more notch to Kuzma’s belt, but the Lakers are double-digit underdogs against the defensive studded lineup of the Thunder.
OKC
The Thunder are 26-17 and in second place in the Northwest Division. Most recently, OKC fell to the rapidly improving Atlanta Hawks, 142-126. Prior to that, it defeated the hot San Antonio Spurs, but the Thunder have lost four of its last five overall, with two of those losses coming at home.
OKC is 14-6 at home this season and it is 16-13 against fellow Western Conference teams. The Lakers are 9-12 on the road, but it has posted a 16-14 mark against the West despite being three games behind OKC in the overall standings. Oklahoma City is a team built around its stars Russell Westbrook and Paul George, but free-agent acquisition Dennis Schroder has been huge for OKC. He gives the Thunder a third guard to alleviate some of the playmaking responsibilities from Westbrook, and he is having a tremendous season off the Thunder bench. Averaging 15.4 points per game in 29.2 minutes a night, he should be in every Sixth Man of the Year conversation.
Westbrook is having another tremendous season, too, of course. For the third consecutive season, he is averaging a triple-double with 21.7 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 10.6 assists per game to his credit. Naysayers are quick to deride Westbrook for his inefficiencies, but it stands to reason that without him OKC easily could be the worst team in the West.
Westbrook’s impact goes far beyond the “counting stats” given that he provides leadership and tutelage to the younger players on the roster, not to mention complementing Steven Adams well as a 1-5 combo. Adams averages 15.4 points and 10.0 rebounds per game, and while both those figures could be deflated from playing with Westbrook, it is just as easy to argue that he fits best with the enigmatic personality that Russ can be at times. The Thunder will look to use its defensive prowess to key in on James-less Lakers team. Adams will prove crucial in that, even if the Lakers do not have an offensive stud at the 5-spot (Tyson Chandler and JaVale McGee are decent, but not offense-first types).
