Free NBA Pick: Thunder vs. Lakers NBA Odds
Looking for Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Los Angeles Lakers free NBA picks & NBA odds? NBA betting sees the Thunder taking on the Lakers on Monday, February 8, 2021 at Staples Center. Cappers Picks provides complimentary expert handicapping picks on all NBA basketball matchups so stay tuned for more FREE daily NBA hoops predictions like this Thunder Lakers matchup.
2021 NBA Handicapping
(10-12) Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Los Angeles Lakers (18-6)
Date: Monday, February 8
Time: 10:00 PM EST
Venue: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
NBA Moneyline Odds: Thunder +660 | Lakers -686
NBA Betting Odds: Lakers -12
NBA Betting Total: 217.5
Monday, February 8, the Oklahoma City Thunder will play the Los Angeles Lakers These teams will play twice in LA Monday and Wednesday marking their second and third meetings this season. LA won the initial match 128-99 on January 13th.
The Lakers hold the all-time record having won 147 matches of the 254 played. Last season, the squads played four times with the Lakers taking three of the four contests.
Oklahoma City Thunder
The upstart Thunder youngsters continue to surprise with wins in games analysts expected them to be raising the white flag over.
This past weekend the Thunder split a two-game series in Oklahoma City versus the Wolves and while Minnesota is the 15th ranked Western team there were lessons learned from these two matches.
In the initial game, OKC was missing starters Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, George Hill, and Luguentz Dort plus their rookie Theo Maledon.
It was notable they were in that game given they didn’t have a true point guard yet almost stole the game (103-106).
On Saturday, OKC got back most of those players (Hill remains out until March after a thumb procedure) and hung on to win the match 120-118.
That OKC got the win without Hill or Al Horford (rest) is a testament to their scrappiness and will to compete. Franchise cornerstone, Gilgeous-Alexander demonstrated why Sam Presti and the brain trust are keen to make him the building block.
SGA willed his team to victory saving his best work for the closing frame and clutch time. He collected 31 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, and a steal.
Head coach Mark Daigneault pieced together a starting lineup of SGA, Maledon (10), Dort (10), Kenrich Williams (10), and Darius Bazley (13) who all registered double-digit scoring.
With Horford and Isaiah Roby (foot) both out the Thunder had to rely on 3-point sniper Mike Muscala for minutes at center and he obliged by being unstoppable especially early going 7 of 7 for 22 points.
He did it mostly by attacking the basket and didn’t miss a shot until 4:56 of the third quarter but had to leave in the fourth after taking an elbow to the face.
Hamidou Diallo continued his strong play chipping in 15 points.
Muscala (concussion protocol), Roby (foot) are day-to-day while Hill (thumb) and Trevor Ariza (personal are out.
Los Angeles Lakers
The defending champions haven’t faced much adversity this season but the one team who seems to cause them the most trouble is the bottom-ranked East team the Pistons.
In their first meeting, the Pistons beat them 107-92 but LA played without Anthony Davis and it was the second game of a back-to-back set.
On Saturday, with the Pistons in their own back-to-back set and without Derrick Rose or Blake Griffin in the lineup they gave the Lakers all they could handle.
Although both LA superstars were participating it took double overtime to capture the win. LeBron James led the way for his crew collecting a double-double of 33 points and 11 assists. James also had seven turnovers in a game where the Lakers had a season-high 23 turnovers.
Anthony Davis added 30 including the game-tying dunk to send the game to overtime. Dennis Schroder (22), Kyle Kuzma (14), Talen Horton-Tucker (10), and Alex Caruso (10) were the other double-figure contributors.
Kostas Antetokounmpo (right knee tendinitis), and Jared Dudley (calf) are both out with no clear timetable for their return to the lineup.
NBA Betting Trends:
- Lakers are 7-3 in the teams last 10 head to head meetings
- Nuggets are 5-4-1 ATS in the last 10 head to head meetings
- Over/Under is 7-3 in the teams last 10 head to head meetings
Free Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Los Angeles Lakers NBA Prediction:
The timing for the Thunder playing two games against the Lakers isn’t ideal since LA is sure to be focused after underestimating the Pistons.
4* Free NBA Betting Pick: Lakers ATS and bet the over
This should theoretically be an easy victory for the Lakers the question is whether LA covers the 12 points or shuts it down once they capture an early lead.
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