Los Angeles Lakers vs Oklahoma City Thunder Prediction, 12/23/2023 Preview and Pick

Game: Los Angeles Lakers vs Oklahoma City Thunder

Date: Saturday, December 23, 2023

Location: Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, OK

TV: Bally Sports Oklahoma

The Los Angeles Lakers (15-14) are on their way to Paycom Center on Saturday where they will go up against the Oklahoma City Thunder (18-8).

The Lakers faced off with the Timberwolves and went home with a loss by a final score of 118-111 in their last contest. Los Angeles ended with a 49.4% FG percentage (41 out of 83) and converted 10 out of their 24 3-point shots. From the charity stripe, the Lakers knocked down 19 of their 24 attempts for a rate of 79.2%. In terms of grabbing rebounds, they collected 38 with 7 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 21 assists in the matchup in addition to forcing 14 turnovers and getting 6 steals. When discussing defense, Los Angeles let their opponent shoot 48.3% from the floor on 42 of 87 shooting. Minnesota recorded 32 dimes and had 13 steals in this contest. Furthermore, Minnesota grabbed 40 rebounds (9 offensive, 31 defensive) and had 6 rejections. Minnesota finished 80.0% when shooting free throws by converting 20 of their 25 shots. They also converted 14 of their 36 tries from three-point range. Regarding fouls, the Lakers finished with 18 and the Timberwolves finished the game with 19 fouls.

Anthony Davis is one player who was a factor for this game. He ended up finishing with 31 points on 11 of 20 shooting. He played for 39 mins played and also totaled 8 rebounds. Davis finished the game shooting 55.0% from the floor and recorded 4 dimes.

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Los Angeles will enter this contest with a record of 15-14 for the year. They have an average of 113.5 points per outing (18th in the league) while hitting 48.4% from the floor. The Lakers are shooting 34.9% from downtown (309 of 885) and 76.2% from the charity stripe. As a team, Los Angeles is grabbing 44.1 rebounds per contest and has totaled 780 dimes on the year, which is 3rd in the league in terms of passing the rock. They are giving up possession 14.3 times per game and as a unit they are committing 17.1 personal fouls per contest.

On defense, the Lakers are forcing 13.9 turnovers per game while drawing 20.4 fouls. They are ranked 26th in the NBA in allowing assists to their opponents with 778 surrendered so far this year. The Lakers defensively are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 46.1% (1,236 of 2,682) and they surrender 44.8 boards per game as a unit. They concede 37.6% on three-point shots and they are 16th in basketball in opponents points per game (114.0).

The last time they took the court, the Thunder walked away with a victory by a final of 134-115 against the Clippers. The Thunder were able to snag 32 defensive rebounds and 6 offensive boards totaling 38 in the game. They also turned it over 11 times, while recording 9 steals in this contest. The Clippers committed 18 personal fouls in this game which took the Thunder to the free throw line for 18 attempts. They were able to knock down 16 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 88.9%. Regarding shooting from downtown, Oklahoma City made 16 out of their 34 attempts (47.1%). When the final whistle blew, the Thunder went 51 for 87 from the field which had them shooting 58.6%. The Thunder allowed the Clippers to bury 44 of 93 attempts from the floor which gave them a percentage of 47.3% for this game. They went 39.5% from 3-point land by going 17 out of 43 and finished the game at 10 out of 12 from the charity stripe (83.3%). In reference to how they rebounded, Oklahoma City allowed Los Angeles to pull down 40 overall (12 on the offensive glass).

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ended up being important for the Thunder in the game. He made 11 out of 25 for the game giving him a rate of 44.0%, and had 8 rebounds. Gilgeous-Alexander earned 31 points in his 32 minutes on the court and earned 4 dimes in this contest.

Oklahoma City has a mark of 18-8 on the year. The Thunder have committed 19.9 fouls every game and they connect on 85.7% from the free throw line. They are dishing out assists 25.8 times per contest (16th in the league) and they are losing possession via turnover 12.9 times per game. Oklahoma City has tallied 3,139 points this season (120.7 per game) and they average 41.4 boards per game. When it comes to offensive execution, the Thunder are shooting 49.2% from the field, which is ranked 3rd in basketball.

The Oklahoma City defense gives up 35.7% on 3-point shots (363 of 1,018) and opponents are making 79.0% of their free throw attempts. They allow 26.7 dimes and 46.5 rebounds per game, which ranks them 19th and 29th in basketball. The Thunder on the defensive side of the court are 13th in the league in points allowed per game with 113.0. They have forced 16.7 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 44.1% from the floor (1st in basketball).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Oklahoma City

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