Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Los Angeles Lakers Betting Preview 1/15/24

Oklahoma City Thunder (27-11 SU, 27-11 ATS) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (19-21 SU, 16-24 ATS)

When: Monday, January 15th, 10:30 PM (ET)

Where: Crypto.com Arena, CA, Los Angeles

TV: NBA

Point Spread: OKC +1.5/LAL -1.5

Total: 238

Money Line: Oklahoma City Thunder +101/-122

Notable Injuries

Thunder

• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Questionable) Knee

Lakers

• Anthony Davis (Probable) Ankle
• LeBron James (Questionable) Ankle
• Gabe Vincent (Out) Knee
• Cam Reddish (Out) Knee

The Los Angeles Lakers (-122) are 1.5-point favorites as they host the Oklahoma City Thunder (+101) at Crypto.com Arena. Tipoff for this Western Conference matchup is scheduled for 10:30 ET.

Oklahoma City (27-11) has won four straight games and is currently second in the Western Conference. The Lakers (19-21), meanwhile, have lost two in a row and are 11th in the West.

Recent Form

The Thunder have won four straight games and are 27-11 on the season, which is good for second place in the Western Conference. In non-conference games, they are 12-3 compared to 15-8 against Western Conference opponents.

Oklahoma City’s ATS record is 27-11, and they have covered the spread in their last three games. On the road, they are 11-6 straight-up and 11-6 against the spread.

This season, the Thunder have been the underdog in 14 of their 38 games and have gone 8-6 in those games. As the underdog, they are 10-4 ATS with an average scoring differential of +2.2 points per game.

In their last game, the Thunder beat the Magic by a score of 112-100. The O/U line for that game was 231.0, and they were favored by 11.5 points going into the game.

Oklahoma City’s O/U record for the season is 22-16, and the under has hit in their last two games. Today’s O/U line of 238.0 is higher than their season average of 233.3.

In their games this season, the Lakers have averaged a combined scoring total of 229.9 points per game, which is 8.1 points lower than today’s O/U line of 238. Overall, their games have averaged an O/U line of 230 points.

Los Angeles’ ATS record for the season is 16-24, and they have failed to cover the spread in their last three games. At home, they are 8-12 ATS and 9-14 as the favorite.

In their last game, the Lakers were 2.5-point underdogs against the Jazz but lost by a score of 132-125. This dropped their overall record to 19-21, which is currently 11th in the Western Conference.

Against the spread, the Lakers are 4-13 as the underdog and 9-14 as the favorite. Today, they are favored by 1.5 points and have gone 2-3 as the favorite in their last five games.

In terms of their O/U record, the Lakers are 21-19 this season. In their last game against the Jazz, the teams combined for 257 points, easily surpassing the O/U line of 238.

The Historicals

Through the last 5 matchups between the teams, Los Angeles has an ATS mark of 3-2. But, looking at the scoring margin in these games, an average of just 1 point per game separates the teams. The over-under record in these same games is 4-1, with the teams combining for an average of 243 points per game.

Analysis

The Thunder are one of the top offensive teams in the NBA, averaging 122.5 points per game (3rd). However, they have scored slightly fewer points on the road (120.0) compared to their season average.

When it comes to pace, Oklahoma City is 9th in the league at 100.1 possessions per game. In terms of shooting, they are 2nd in field goal percentage (50%) and have hit 39% of their three-point attempts (2nd).

So far this season, the Thunder have outscored the NBA scoring average in 76.3% of their games. In terms of assists, they are 10th in the league with 27.4 per game.

Currently, the Thunder’s defense holds the 13th rank in the NBA, allowing 113.4 points per game. In terms of two-point field goal attempts, the Thunder defense has allowed a shooting percentage of 51.0% while allowing 35.8% from downtown.

So far this season, the Lakers are 19th in the NBA in scoring at 114.1 points per game. However, at home, they are averaging 114.6 points per game. In terms of pace, LA is 6th in the league at 100.7 possessions per game.

When it comes to shooting, the Lakers are 8th in field goal percentage at 48%. Inside the arc, they are 7th in two-point shooting at 55%, but they are 30th in three-point attempts and 24th in three-point shooting percentage.

Overall, the Lakers are 8th in assists at 27.6 per game. In terms of free throws, they are 11th in makes and 8th in attempts. Finally, the Lakers are 29th in offensive rebounds.

Coming into today’s game, the Lakers’ defense is giving up an average of 115.8 points per contest. The Los Angeles defense has allowed opponents to shoot 38.2% from beyond the arc this season. Opposing teams are also hitting 46.9% of their field goal attempts vs. Los Angeles.

Betting Trends

• Through their last ten road games, Oklahoma City has an ATS record of just 5-5. However, their overall record was 5-5 while averaging 120 points per game.
• Across their ten previous home games, Los Angeles has an ATS mark of 3-7. Their straight-up record in these matchups was 2-8 while averaging 116 points per game.
• The last ten games that Oklahoma City was the underdog, they have an ATS mark of 7-3 while going 6-4 straight up.
• Spanning across their last three games as the betting favorite, the Lakers have gone 0-3 vs the spread. Their overall record in these games was 1-2.

Joes Pick To Cover The Spread

This is one where you definitely want to keep an eye on the injury report, with Shai Gilgeious-Alexander and Lebron James both listed as questionable. But assuming that the Thunder have their star guard available, I’m going with OKC to pick up the win and cover in LA tonight.