The Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder face off for the second time in Staples Center on Monday. With that said, it’s time to continue our NBA odds series and make a Thunder-Lakers prediction and pick.

The Lakers currently hold the second-best overall record in the league at 18-6, but they are only 12-12 against the spread. They are coming off a win in double overtime against the Detroit Pistons.

Meanwhile, the Thunder stand at 10-12 overall and are 11-10-1 against the spread.  Oklahoma City's last game was a close victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Here’s how sportsbooks have set the opening Thunder-Lakers NBA odds.

NBA Odds: Thunder vs. Lakers Odds

Los Angeles Lakers -10.5 (-110)

Denver Nuggets +10.5 (-110)

Over 218.5 Points (-112)

Under 218.5 Points (-108)

Why The Thunder Could Cover The Spread

The Thunder will dodge a bullet with NBA All-Star Anthony Davis missing the matchup. Davis has been hot and cold lately, but having him off the floor takes significant pressure off OKC on both ends of the floor.

Davis has missed three games this season, and the Lakers have underperformed without him.

Los Angeles did blow out the Wolves without their star, but they struggled against Chicago–winning by only two when the spread was double digits and losing to Detroit by 15 points as seven point favorites.

The last time these two teams met, Davis was the third leading scorer in the game, scoring 18 points on an efficient 8-of-13 from the field.

Additionally, the Lakers could be without Alex Caruso, who is questionable with a hand injury. Caruso is an underrated piece of the Los Angeles defense and has been one of the best 3-point shooters in the NBA statistically this year.

With one key defender out and another questionable, the door is open for the Thunder offense to surprise a strong L.A. defense.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will be the focal point of the offense for OKC. After missing two games, SGA came out strong against the Timberwolves, scoring 31 points while shooting 12-of-22 from the field, two points shy of his season high.

The Thunder badly need their star PG to produce another strong outing to hang around with a tough Lakers defense. As long as OKC can reach 100-105 points, they have a good chance of covering the spread against a Lakers team that hasn't topped 115 points in an NBA regular season game in just under a month.

Why The Lakers Could Cover The Spread

The Thunder have struggled all year to put points on the board, and on Monday, they're going against one of the best defensive teams in the NBA.

The Lakers have allowed the second-least points and the least 3-pointers in the NBA, locking up teams on a nightly basis.

Over their last five matchups, the Lakers have held opponents to under 100 points three times. Making this feat even more impressive is the fact that these opponents were no scrubs on the offensive end. The Denver Nuggets and Atlanta Hawks rank in the Top 10 in offensive efficiency, and both were clamped by the Lakers defense.

OKC has nowhere near the firepower of those squads, so it's a good bet that Los Angeles holds this team to below their scoring average.

On the offensive end, the Lakers will be without one of their premier weapons in Davis.

Even with AD absent, Los Angeles has plenty of depth to take advantage of a OKC defense that has been middle-tier in the NBA.

The Lakers will lean on LeBron James, who is currently on a tear and making a strong case to win yet another MVP award so far.

Over his last 10 games, James is averaging 27.4 points on 51.0 percent shooting, as well as an impressive 44.4 percent from downtown. With Davis absent, expect LeBron to handle a huge part of the offensive load tonight.

Final Thunder-Lakers Prediction & Pick

Playing against a Lakers team that's without their second best player and coming off a grueling double OT win, I think this is the perfect position for OKC to hang tough and give L.A. a run for their money. I expect the Lakers to take a step back on both ends with A.D. out, and 10 points in the NBA odds is a lot of juice to lay.

In the last two games where the Lakers were double-digit favorites, they lost one straight up and failed to cover the second. I'll take the Thunder to continue the trend and at least make it a competitive game.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION: LAL 109, OKC 104 (OKC +10.5)