Thunder vs. Lakers: NBA odds, Picks and Predictions
Thunder vs. Lakers Odds
| Thunder Odds | +6 |
| Lakers Odds | -6 |
| Over/Under | 239 |
| Date | Tue, Feb. 7 |
| Time | 10:00 p.m. |
| TV | TNT |
Tuesday’s NBA action will conclude with a matchup between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Lakers on TNT. Entering play, LeBron James is 36 points away from becoming the league’s all-time leading scorer, an honor currently held by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Ahead of tip-off, the Lakers are favored by six points on the spread, and James’ points prop is set at over/under 32.5.
Oklahoma City Thunder
Dort OUT
Per Joe Mussatto, Lu Dort will not play on Tuesday against the Lakers. Tonight, will mark Oklahoma City’s sixth consecutive game with Dort unavailable. In that span, the Thunder are 2-3, but have outscored their opponents by 0.6 points per 100 possessions. Even with Dort out of the lineup, this group beat the Cavaliers by 12 points, the Rockets by 32 points, and played competitive basketball in two of their three losses.
According to Cleaning the Glass, Oklahoma City ranks in the 61st percentile in offensive efficiency and the 46th percentile in defensive efficiency with Dort on the floor this season, compared to the 34th percentile in offensive efficiency and the 73rd percentile in defensive efficiency when he is on the sidelines.
Who will step up for Oklahoma City?
Per CourtIQ, when Dort is off of the court this year, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (+6.1%) sees the largest increase in usage of any player on the Thunder roster. In these situations, Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 37.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 6.3 assists per 36 minutes of action. According to props.cash, he has cleared this market number in 14 of his last 21 games played with Dort not uniform.
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Los Angeles Lakers
Will James break the scoring record on Tuesday?
Per ESPN, James has scored at least 36 points in four of his 34 career games against the Oklahoma City Thunder, and has nine games this season of at least 36 points. Yet, it is unlikely that he will get the all-time scoring record this evening.
According to props.cash, James has scored more than 35 points in only two of his 20 games played at home this year. Both of those high-scoring performances happened with Anthony Davis in street clothes. When Davis is off of the floor this season, James is averaging 32.8 points per 36 minutes of action. When Davis is on the floor, James is averaging only 24.6 points per 36 minutes of action, per CourtIQ.
Further hurting James’ chances of becoming the NBA’s all-time leading scorer tonight is the fact that the Thunder have been playing extremely well defensively. Across the last 30 days, Oklahoma City ranks ninth out of 30 teams in defensive efficiency, permitting only 112.1 points per 100 possessions.
Thunder vs. Lakers – Picks & Predictions
Though the media, and surely LeBron James, are eager for “The Chosen One,” to become the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, there are a number of factors working against that happening on Tuesday. Playing a competent Oklahoma City defense, with Anthony Davis healthy and performing at a high level – James is slightly too far away from the accomplishment to get it done this evening within the confines of a normal game script. Entering play with the third-worst record in the Western Conference, James and company cannot afford to give away any contests in pursuit of a record that is inevitable. There is no reason to be overzealous in this spot for James. Take the under on his points prop.
PICK: LeBron James u32.5 points (-105, MGM)
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