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The Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder will play on Friday night in a Western Conference matchup. It's time to continue our NBA odds series with a Lakers-Thunder prediction and pick.
The Lakers and Thunder will play on Friday night as the Lakers look to keep their momentum rolling. Los Angeles was just looking better before they dropped a game Thursday vs. the Memphis Grizzlies. They have still won three of their last five and have looked better the more LeBron James gets acclimated with his (still) new teammates. Oklahoma City has been a pesky team so far this season but is not exactly loaded. They are lead by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who looks like a budding star. The issue is, everything around SGA lacks experience and NBA seasoning. The Thunder have won two in a row but will face a tough task on Friday night as the Lakers will be looking to bounce back from Wednesday's loss. The Lakers come in as strong favorites over the Thunder in Oklahoma City on Friday night.
Here are the Lakers-Thunder odds for this Friday night NBA matchup, courtesy of FanDuel.
NBA Odds: Lakers-Thunder odds
Los Angeles Lakers -5 (-110)
Oklahoma City Thunder +5 (-110)
Over 217
Under 217
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Why The Lakers Can Cover The Spread
The Lakers are obviously the better team in this spot. The fit of LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook continues to be a work in progress, but the talent is there. Westbrook will of course be returning to Oklahoma City for this matchup, where he spent most of his Hall of Fame career. The Lakers have been pushing the pace a bit, as their offensive output has increased of late. Earlier in the season they were playing a more deliberate pace. The defense continues to be a work in progress this season for Los Angeles after losing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Alex Caruso over the offseason. The Lakers have struggled to replace those solid wing defenders and it has shown. Even if Los Angeles doesn't play their best offensive game on Friday, they should be able to cover and win vs. the Thunder. The Lakers are 4-6 on the road this season and 9-17 vs. the spread. This could be a bit of a trap as the Lakers are the older team and on a rest disadvantage in this spot.
Why The Thunder Can Cover The Spread
Oklahoma City has struggled to pick up wins this season, as evidenced by their 8-16 record. The Thunder are however 15-9 vs. the spread, so they have kept it close quite often. With this being a young team riding a two-game win streak, this could be a potentially dangerous spot for the Lakers as road favorites. Oklahoma City is 4-7 at home this season compared to 4-9 on the road. The Thunder will have a chance to cover this one but the spread is not as high as some may have predicted coming into this matchup. The spread hovering around five points makes the Thunder a pretty risky play vs. a better and more experienced Lakers team on Friday night.
Final Lakers-Thunder Prediction & Pick
The Lakers have disappointed many times so far this season. After dropping a game to the Ja Morant-less Grizzlies on Wednesday, LA should come into this one with an edge. Take the Lakers to win and cover on the road on Friday night vs. a team they should handily beat despite the rest disadvantage.
Final Lakers-Thunder Prediction & Pick: Lakers -5 (-110)
