THURSDAY APRIL 22, 2010 – Los Angeles vs Oklahoma City
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NBA Betting – Thunder Will Get By…Barely
Team records:
Los Angeles: 57-25 SU, 34-46-2 ATS
Oklahoma City: 50-32 SU, 48-34 ATS
The Oklahoma City Thunder haven’t played well in either of the first two games of their series with the defending NBA Champions, but then again, neither have the Los Angeles Lakers.
Both teams shot below 40% in their most recent contest with the Thunder missing a couple of game-tying or game-winning three-pointers as the clock faded in the fourth quarter.
Overall, it was another solid effort as the Thunder had an astounding number of 17 blocks, but they still have yet to take the Lakers best punch.
Playing at home on Thursday, the Thunder will feel the pressure of winning in front of their home crowd with their playoff lives on the line. That will make them a little extra tense but they’ll manage to eke out a win.
Game 3 Preview: Lakers @ Thunder
Betting Odds: – Thunder: -3.5 (-110)
Lakers: +3.5 (-110)
Total: Over/Under 191 -110
The fact that the Thunder are a three-point home favorite shows that they aren’t going to be a big pushover as a No.8 seed in the West but there is still a lot of skepticism as to whether they can get this done.
The good news for the Thunder is that they’ve kept the Lakers to just 41% shooting and 37.5% shooting in the first two contests but their regular season average was 45.7%.
If the Lakers have one good shooting game, the Thunder could find themselves facing an insurmountable series deficit.
The Thunder blocked a whopping 17 shots in Game 2 and knowing head coach Phil Jackson, his team is going to make some adjustments. If they can find a way to generate more contact, they could turn some of those blocks into free throw attempts.
For the Thunder, they are also going to shoot better at home but they should also play with the lead for most of this game. On the road for the first two games, they were fighting uphill. They were fighting the opposing crowd, they were fighting their nerves and they were fighting the NBA Champs.
At home, they’ll be far more comfortable where they went 27-14 this year. This will be the first time in the series that the Thunder’s big three – Kevin Durant, Russell Westrbook and Jeff Green – all have a big game.
The motivation here really tips in the Thunder’s favor. They know their playoff chances are on the line on Thursday and they won’t fail at home.
Lakers vs Thunder Free Game 3 NBA Pick: Thunder
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Dave Golokhov has written for BETUS Sportsbook, Sportsfanmagazine.com, FOX, Askmen.com, Sports-central.org, and the FOXSports.com Funhouse.
