Lakers at Thunder: What Bettors Need to Know
By Covers.com
Los Angeles Lakers at Oklahoma City Thunder (-9.5, 210)
The Los Angeles Lakers have finally reached the .500 mark for the first time since late December and need to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday to keep from falling right back below it. Los Angeles is back at the break-even mark for the first time since being 15-15 as it makes a run at landing a Western Conference playoff spot. Oklahoma City has won four of five and has the second-best record in the West.
The Thunder are 2-1 against the Lakers this season and forward Kevin Durant has scored at least 35 points in all three contests. Durant is averaging 37.7 points against Los Angeles this season with a high outing of 42. He has a career average of 27.4 in 20 regular-season contests against Los Angeles. The Lakers have won 13 of their last 18 games and are two games behind the eighth-place Utah Jazz in the Western Conference playoff chase. “We’re playing much, much better,” guard Kobe Bryant said after Sunday’s victory over the Atlanta Hawks. “It’s going to be a big test for us on Tuesday in a building where it’s going to be a playoff-like atmosphere and one of the teams we could see in the first round of the playoffs. I’m excited for that.”
ABOUT THE LAKERS (30-30, 24-35-1 ATS): Bryant has returned to a scoring emphasis and is averaging 34.8 points over the last five games. He has scored at least 29 points in each game and had 34 in Sunday’s win over the Hawks. Bryant is averaging 28 points in the three games against Oklahoma City. He has scored 30 or more points 25 times this season. Point guard Steve Nash had 15 points and 10 assists against the Hawks for his first double-double since Feb. 3. Nash is averaging 15.3 points over the last four games.
ABOUT THE THUNDER (43-16, 35-22-2 ATS): Point guard Russell Westbrook had 29 points and 10 assists in Sunday’s victory over the Los Angeles Clippers to continue his stellar play. Westbrook has scored 20 or more points in nine straight outings and 13 of the last 14. He has shot better than 50 percent from the field in 10 of the 14 games. Westbrook’s run began after enduring a 6-of-22 shooting night in a loss to the Lakers on Jan. 27. He scored just 17 points in that contest but is averaging 25.7 against Los Angeles this season. Westbrook scored 33 and 27 points in Oklahoma City’s two wins over the Lakers.
TRENDS:
* Lakers are 5-11 ATS in their last 16 road games.
* Thunder are 19-7 ATS in their last 26 home games.
* Over is 5-2 in Lakers last seven overall.
* Over is 15-7 in Thunder last 22 vs. NBA Pacific.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Los Angeles has a 4-3 regular-season mark in Oklahoma City.
2. The Thunder are 26-4 (21-9 ATS) at home, while the Lakers are 10-19 (10-18-1 ATS) on the road.
3. Oklahoma City had 12 steals in the victory over the Clippers.
nside the Paint - Tuesday
By Chris David
VegasInsider.com
Will the Los Angeles Lakers make the playoffs?
Even though Los Angeles (30-30 straight up, 24-36 against the spread) got back to the .500 mark on Sunday after beating Atlanta 99-98 at the Staples Center, the oddsmakers aren’t buying the “Purple and Gold” just yet.
Sportsbook.ag is allowing bettors to answer the above question in their NBA Prop Wagers.
Los Angeles Lakers - What Will Happen in the 2012/13 Season?
Lakers Miss Playoffs 10/11 (Bet $110 to win $100)
Lakers Lose in 1st Round of Playoffs 6/5 (Bet $100 to win $120)
Lakers Lose in 2nd Round of Playoffs 7/1 (Bet $100 to win $700)
Lakers Lose in Conference Finals 10/1 (Bet $100 to win $1,000)
Lakers Lose in NBA Championship 10/1 (Bet $100 to win $1,000)
Lakers Win NBA Championship 20/1 (Bet $100 to win $2,000)
Looking at the above numbers, the Lakers missing the playoffs is the top choice. The second option is the Lakers losing in the first round and that might be a sound future investment at a plus-120 price.
If Los Angeles does make the playoffs, it will more than likely be the sixth, seventh or eighth seed. Barring a collapse by the Spurs, Thunder or Clippers, those three teams will be the top seeds in the West. So far this season, Los Angeles is 1-7 against that trio and it’s safe to say that all three of those teams would be at least 1/3 (Bet $300 to win $100) favorites over the Lakers in a best-of-seven series. So if you can get 6/5 odds now, that’s certainly screams value.
The Lakers still trail the Jazz by two games for the final spot in the Western Conference but they have started the second-half with a 5-1 record. Three of those wins came against teams with losing records and the loss was against a quality playoff club in Denver (108-119). On Tuesday the Lakers face another serious contender on the road, Oklahoma City (43-16 SU, 35-23 ATS).
Books were slow to open on this game due to the status of Thunder forward Serge Ibaka, who threw a low-blow to the Clippers’ Blake Griffin on Sunday during OKC’s 108-104 road win over Los Angeles. Despite the possibility of not having a starter, Oklahoma City opened as an 8 ½-point favorite, which tells you again what the oddsmakers think of Los Angeles.
L.A. is playing better lately but it’s hard to ignore the fact that the team is 10-19 both SU and ATS on the road and that includes three straight double-digit losses against teams with winning records.
Oklahoma City has been a beast at home this season, going 26-4 SU and 19-10 ATS. Three of those four losses came against the Eastern Conference (Hawks, Nets, Heat) with Memphis being the only team in the West to capture a win at OKC (107-97), which occurred on Nov. 14.
This will be the fourth and final meeting between the pair this season. Oklahoma City won the first two affairs but Los Angeles captured a 105-96 win on Jan. 27 as a 3 ½-point home underdog. In that win, the Lakers shot a blistering 55 percent from the floor and outscored the Thunder 30-21 in the fourth quarter.
Los Angeles will need that type of effort tonight considering OKC has won 18 straight versus teams in the West at Chesapeake Energy Arena and the Lakers have dropped five straight at this venue.
Total players are looking at an opening number of 214. OKC has watched the ‘over’ go 17-12 (59%) at home but the last two games have gone ‘under’ as the defense allowed 74 and 72 points. The Lakers have scored 100-plus points in five of their six games since the All-Star break, which helped the ‘over’ go 4-2.
After this contest, the Lakers faces the Hornets in New Orleans on zero days rest tomorrow. The Thunder will head to Madison Square Garden for a primetime battle against New York on Thursday.
Tip-off is slated for 9:35 p.m. ET with TNT providing coverage.
There are two other games on Tuesday’s card and both contests has the road team open as favorites.
Boston (31-27 SU, 25-30 ATS) at Philadelphia (23-35 SU, 27-31 ATS): After going 2-2 on a West Coast trip to start the second-half of the season, Boston avoided a letdown last Friday at home and beat Golden State, 94-86. The Celtics had three days off before that victory and will be playing with the same amount of rest again tonight. Philadelphia snapped a seven-game slide on Saturday by beating the aforementioned Warriors (104-97) but lost the next night in Washington, 90-87. The problem with Philly is its offense (92 PPG), which is the second-worst in the league. However, the 76ers have gotten 17 of their 23 victories at home and Boston’s road record (10-18) is tough to put money behind. Total players should note that despite an inconsistent attack, the 76ers have seen the ‘over’ go 20-12 at home. Philadelphia has won and covered two of its first three encounters against Boston this season but it’s listed as a home ‘dog (+2.5) at most books tonight. TNT will provide coverage of this tip at 7:05 p.m. ET.
Denver (39-22 SU, 36-25 ATS) at Sacramento (21-40 SU, 26-34 ATS): Similar to the Celtics, the Kings avoided a home trap on Sunday after a long road trip on the opposite coast. Sacramento went 1-4 SU and 2-3 ATS during that span but took its anger out on Charlotte with a 36-point (119-83) romp as a 7 ½-point favorite. Can the Kings win two straight? Considering they’ve only won back-to-back games six times this season and their longest winning streak is three, it’s hard to answer yes. Even though the Bobcats were held to 83, the previous 10 opponents put up over 100 points against the Kings and Tuesday’s opponent is no stranger to the scoreboard. The Nuggets have started the second-half with a 4-1 mark (3-2 ATS) and two of those wins came on the road. If there is a doubt betting on Denver as a road favorite (-5) tonight, gamblers can point to its defense (101.8 PPG) which is the fifth worst in the league. Who’s the worst? Sacramento (104.9 PPG). When you see those numbers, it’s easy to see a total open at 221 ½ and that might be too low for this matchup. The last four in this series has gone ‘over’ the number and Denver already dropped 122 and 121 on the Kings in the first two meetings this season. Sacramento only posted 97 and 93 in those losses, which means you’ll need a better effort tonight if you’re looking at the high side of this number. Tip-of is set for 10:05 p.m. ET from Power Balance Pavilion.