Oklahoma City Thunder vs Los Angeles Lakers – Preview, Prediction and Betting Tips 23/12/2023

This Saturday we’ll have a night full of games in the regular phase of the NBA, and one of them takes place in Oklahoma, where the Thunder host the Los Angeles Lakers.

Oklahoma City Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder are one of the best teams this season in the NBA and today, they appear in second place in the Western Conference, with a campaign of 18 wins and 8 losses.

The team is going through a very positive moment with 3 consecutive victories.

During this period, they beat the current champion, Denver Nuggets 118 to 117, away from home.

Then, as home team, they beat the Memphis Grizzlies 116-97 and in the last match, also at home, they overpowered the strong Los Angeles Clippers.

On that occasion, a 134-115 victory, an absolutely dynamic team, led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who led the team with 31 points, in addition to 8 rebounds and 4 assists.

The team reached almost 59% in shots from the field, which is an absurd average, while also shooting 47% from the perimeter.

It’s an absolutely well-trained team, very strong offensively and will certainly be favored against Los Angeles this Saturday night.

It is the team with the fifth best offensive efficiency in the league, with an average of 120.7 points per game.

Acting as home team, OKC has 10 wins in 14 games, and arrives for this clash against the Los Angeles Lakers, with a sequence of 5 straight wins as home team.

One of them, in fact, against the Lakers themselves, when they won 133 to 110, which shows us how they have a good outlook for this Saturday night.

Los Angeles Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers had been having a very good season, showing that they can still be a competitive team, but they have been going through a phase of collective decline.

The team appears today in ninth place in the Western Conference, with a campaign of 15 wins and 14 losses.

It comes from 4 consecutive defeats in the last matches, starting with one away from home, against the San Antonio Spurs, by 129 and 115.

In Los Angeles they lost to the Knicks 114-109, away from home to the Chicago Bulls 124-108, and in the last match also away from home, to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Against the Wolves, a score of 118 to 111 for the home team, in a game where Anthony Davis returned, who was the game’s top scorer, with 31 points.

But the Lakers have struggled a lot at this point in the season, to maintain a healthy and competitive team, as their 2 main pieces wear out a lot due to their physical condition.

For tonight’s clash, LeBron James and Anthony Davis remain on the questionable list, but will probably be present.

The Oklahoma City Thunder, on the other hand, have Josh Giddey out and, besides, all of their main players will be on the court.

Conclusion

I believe in Oklahoma’s broad favoritism for tonight’s match. Therefore, their handicap line will be my betting choice, but also the points line, due to their strong offensive efficiency.