The banged up No. 5 seeded Los Angeles Lakers upset the No. 4 seeded Houston Rockets in round one, leading to a second round matchup against the defending-champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
Lakers' stars Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves missed most, and all in Doncic's case, of the first round, but Reaves is back and Doncic could potentially return mid-way through the series.
The Lakers are already a solid team, with perimeter defense, shooting, and playmaking coming from plenty of different guys, and adding Luka back would certainly make this an intriguing series.
While Doncic and Reaves were rehabbing, LeBron James carried the load offensively, scoring 25+ in four of the six games against Houston, averaging over eight assists per game.
The Thunder were dominant in the regular season and followed that up with a clean 4-0 sweep of the Phoenix Suns - none of the games were very close.
Reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was marvelous in games two-through-four, putting up 37 points, 42, and 31 in each of those games respectively.
He'll be matched up against Marcus Smart who is still playing fantastic defense in year 12.
Ahead of Game 1 tipping off tomorrow night at 8:30 PM ET / 7:30 PM CT / 5:30 PM PT, let's take a look at the series odds and lines on bet365:
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder: Series Odds
To Win Series - Lakers vs. Thunder
Los Angeles Lakers | +1000 |
Oklahoma City Thunder | -2000 |
Series Correct Score - Lakers vs. Thunder
LA Lakers | OKC Thunder | |
4-0 | +30000 | +125 |
4-1 | +6500 | +195 |
4-2 | +3300 | +525 |
4-3 | +2000 | +850 |
Series Total Games - Lakers vs. Thunder
Over | Under | |
4.5 | -150 | +125 |
5.5 | +240 | -300 |
6.5 | +600 | -900 |
Most Points in Series - Lakers vs. Thunder
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | -1600 |
LeBron James | +1100 |
Austin Reaves | +1400 |
Jalen Williams | +5000 |
Chet Holmgren | +5500 |
To Win the NBA Championship
OKC Thunder | -155 |
LA Lakers | +2500 |
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All odds written in this article were correct at the time of writing and are subject to change.
