Oklahoma City Thunder vs Los Angeles Lakers Prediction, 1/15/2024 Preview and Pick

Game: Oklahoma City Thunder vs Los Angeles Lakers

Date: Monday, January 15, 2024

Location: Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA

TV: Spectrum Sportsnet

Odds/Point Spread: Oklahoma City (+5)

The Oklahoma City Thunder (27-11) are headed to Crypto.com Arena on Monday where they will take on the Los Angeles Lakers (19-21). Oklahoma City opens this game as 5-point dogs. The over/under has been set at 228.

The Thunder faced off with the Magic and took home the win by a score of 112-100 in their last game. In relation to personal fouls, the Thunder ended up with 19 while the Magic accounted for 22 personal fouls. They also made 7 out of their 35 tries from distance. Orlando finished the contest at 62.5% when shooting free throws by converting 15 of their 24 tries. Furthermore, Orlando totaled 50 rebounds (11 offensive, 39 defensive) and had 4 rejections. Orlando distributed 21 assists and had 5 steals in the game. In regard to defense, Oklahoma City allowed their opponent to shoot 46.4% from the floor on 39 out of 84 shooting. They also doled out 23 dimes for the game as well as creating 15 turnovers and getting 9 steals. In relation to hauling in rebounds, they earned 46 with 12 of them being offensive. At the free throw line, the Thunder converted 18 of 21 tries for a percentage of 85.7%. Oklahoma City walked away from the game with a 45.7% field goal percentage (43 of 94) and knocked down 8 of their 36 shots from 3-point land.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a player who played a role for the contest. Gilgeous-Alexander finished the game at 65.0% from the field and also dished out 7 dimes. He was on the hardwood for 36 mins played and also grabbed 6 boards. He ended up finishing with 37 points on 13 out of 20 shooting.

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Oklahoma City will enter this matchup with a win-loss record of 27-11 so far this season. They are averaging 122.5 points per outing (3rd in the league) while shooting 50.7% from the field. The Thunder are shooting 39.2% on shots from downtown (498 of 1,269) and 83.8% from the charity stripe. As a team, Oklahoma City is pulling down 41.3 rebounds per contest and has 1,041 dimes on the campaign, which is 12th in the league in terms of passing. They turn it over 12.6 times per contest and as a basketball team they commit 20.1 personal fouls on a nightly basis.

When they are on defense, the Thunder have forced 15.9 turnovers per game while drawing 19.7 fouls. They are giving up 35.4% on shots from beyond the arc while they are 13th in the league in points per game allowed (113.4). The Thunder defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 44.3% (1,517 of 3,424) and they concede 45.4 rebounds per game as a group. They currently rank 14th in the league in giving up assists to their opponents with 1,016 surrendered this season.

The last time they took the court, the Lakers took a defeat with a final score of 132-125 when they played the Jazz. The Lakers were able to corral 33 defensive boards and 7 offensive boards for a total of 40 in the matchup. They gave up possession of the ball 12 times, while getting 6 steals for this game. The Jazz were called for 20 personal fouls in the matchup which took the Lakers to the free throw line for 24 attempts. They were able to make 20 of those for a clip of 83.3%. In relation to shots from distance, Los Angeles made 13 of 29 attempts (44.8%). Overall, the Lakers shot 46 for 92 from the floor which had them sitting at 50.0%. The Lakers permitted the Jazz to make 42 of 93 attempts from the floor which gave them a rate of 45.2% for the matchup. They finished 32.4% from three-point range by connecting on 12 of 37 and walked away from this one shooting 36 of 39 from the charity stripe (92.3%). When it comes to how they attacked the glass, Los Angeles permitted Utah to collect 52 in total (13 offensive).

D'Angelo Russell ended up being a major contributor for the Lakers for the contest. Russell recorded 39 points in his 41 mins of playing time and had 8 assists in this matchup. He made 15 of 26 in this game for a rate of 57.7%, and earned 3 rebounds.

Los Angeles has a win-loss record of 19-21 on the year. As an offensive unit, the Lakers are shooting 48.6% from the field, which ranks 8th in the league. Los Angeles has accounted for 4,565 points so far this season (114.1 per game) and they snag 43.1 boards per game. They are assisting teammates 27.7 times per contest (8th in the league) and they lose possession via turnover 14.3 times per contest. The Lakers commit 16.9 fouls per game and they go 77.0% from the charity stripe.

The Los Angeles defense gives up 38.2% on shots from beyond the perimeter (574 of 1,504) and opponents are making 78.8% of their free throw shots. They surrender 27.2 dimes and 44.5 rebounds on a nightly basis, which is ranked 21st and 21st in the league. The Lakers on defense are ranked 16th in the league in PPG allowed with 115.8. They are forcing their opponents into 13.8 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 46.8% from the floor (14th in the NBA).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Los Angeles (-5)

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