Los Angeles Lakers vs Oklahoma City Thunder Prediction, 3/1/2023 Preview and Pick

Game: Los Angeles Lakers vs Oklahoma City Thunder

Date: Wednesday, March 1, 2023

Location: Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, OK

TV: Bally Sports Oklahoma

Paycom Center is where the Oklahoma City Thunder will go up against the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday.

The Lakers stepped onto the hardwood against the Mavericks and took home the win by a score of 111-108 in their last contest. With respect to fouls, the Lakers ended up walking away with 17 while the Mavericks accumulated 24 fouls. They also converted 20 out of their 49 attempts from long range. Dallas walked away from this one shooting 71.4% at the charity stripe by burying 10 of their 14 attempts. Moreover, Dallas totaled 48 boards (11 offensive, 37 defensive) and got 4 blocked shots. Dallas distributed 21 dimes and had 5 steals in this game. In relation to defending, Los Angeles allowed the other team to shoot 41.9% from the field on 39 out of 93 shooting. They also distributed 25 assists in this contest as well as forcing 16 turnovers and earning 9 steals. In relation to grabbing rebounds, they earned 56 with 17 of them being offensive. When they shot from the free throw line, the Lakers made 21 of their 28 shots for a percentage of 75.0%. Los Angeles finished the game having earned a 43.3% field goal percentage (42 of 97) and converted 6 out of their 34 3-pointers.

Anthony Davis is a guy who was a factor for this game. Davis finished the contest at 60.0% from the field and dished out 4 dimes. He saw the court for 37 minutes played and totaled 15 rebounds. He ended up finishing with 30 points on 12 of 20 shooting.

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Los Angeles enters this one with a win-loss record of 29-32 this season. They are averaging 117.0 pts per game (6th in the NBA) while hitting 48.1% from the floor. The Lakers are connecting on 33.7% on shots from distance (638 of 1,893) and 77.4% from the free throw line. As a unit, Los Angeles is grabbing 45.7 boards per contest and has accounted for 1,540 assists on the year, which is 13th in the league in terms of passing. They are turning it over 14.0 times per game and as a group they commit 18.5 personal fouls per game.

When they are on defense, the Lakers have forced 12.8 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 21.3 fouls. They currently rank 22nd in the NBA in giving up assists to their opponents with 1,572 relinquished this year. The Lakers defensively are allowing an opponent FG percentage of 47.0% (2,697 of 5,743) and they surrender 45.7 boards per game as a group. They are giving up 34.7% on 3-pointers and they rank 24th in basketball in PPG allowed (117.9).

The last time they took the court, the Thunder took a loss by a score of 124-115 against the Kings. The Thunder snagged 28 defensive boards and 9 offensive boards totaling 37 for the game. They coughed up the ball 14 times, while getting 10 steals in this matchup. The Kings earned 21 fouls in this matchup which got the Thunder to the free throw line for a total of 23 tries. They were able to make 17 of them for a clip of 73.9%. In regard to shots from distance, Oklahoma City knocked down 16 of their 40 tries (40.0%). When the final whistle blew, the Thunder finished 41 out of 86 from the floor which had them shooting 47.7%. The Thunder allowed the Kings to knock down 45 out of 85 attempts from the floor which gave them a percentage of 52.9% for the contest. They shot 41.9% from downtown by shooting 18 of 43 and ended up shooting 16 of 24 from the free throw line (66.7%). When talking about cleaning up the glass, Oklahoma City permitted Sacramento to get 48 overall (13 on the offensive side).

Isaiah Joe ended up having an impact for the Thunder in the game. He converted 6 out of 11 for the contest for a field goal percentage of 54.5%, but couldn't coral a rebound. Joe recorded 24 points in his 28 mins of playing time and tallied 3 assists in this contest.

Oklahoma City has a record of 28-32 this season. When it comes to offense, the Thunder are connecting on 46.9% from the field, which is 18th in the NBA. Oklahoma City has scored 7,069 pts so far this year (117.8 per contest) and they collect 43.9 boards per contest. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 24.7 times per contest (18th in the league) and they turn it over 13.4 times per contest. The Thunder are responsible for committing 21.4 fouls per game while shooting 80.0% from the free throw line.

The Oklahoma City defense gives up 35.8% on three-point shots (768 of 2,147) and opponents are making 78.1% of their free throw attempts. They have given up 25.5 dimes and 46.9 boards per contest, which has them ranked 15th and 30th in the league. The Thunder on the defensive side of the court are 20th in the league in points allowed per game with 116.6. They are forcing their opponents into 16.9 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 47.0% from the field (12th in the league).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Oklahoma City

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