The Oklahoma City Thunder played the Los Angeles Lakers tough in the first two basketball betting games of this series in Los Angeles but they still ended up with two losses. The series moves to Oklahoma City for Game 3 on Thursday night in a game the Thunder must win to have a chance in this series. The Lakers have looked vulnerable in this series but the Thunder just have not been able to get a win.
Oklahoma City is a 3-point favorite with a total of 191 at SBG Global.
Oklahoma City is getting respect from the oddsmakers as they are favored to win Game 3. If the Lakers don’t player better than they did in the first two games then perhaps Oklahoma City has a chance. Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol were solid in Game 2 but no other Los Angeles player had more than six points. Bryant had 39 points while Gasol had 25. Andrew Bynum, Lamar Odom, Ron Artest and Derek Fisher combined to shoot 9 of 38 from the field. “We’ll have to shoot much better to beat them in Oklahoma,” Los Angeles head coach Phil Jackson said.
The Thunder realize that they had a chance to win in Los Angeles. One of their problems was rebounding as they gave up 19 offensive rebounds to the Lakers in Game 2. “If you think you’re just going to get the rebound by jumping higher, you’re not going to win that contest,” Thunder head coach Scott Brooks said. The Thunder were better in Game 2 but they still didn’t get the win. “We’re still trying to figure out how to win close games,” Brooks said. History is still on the side of the Lakers as teams coached by Phil Jackson are 44-0 when they win the first game of a NBA playoff betting series.
The Lakers are not underdogs very often but they thrive in the playoffs in that role. They are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 playoff games as an underdog. The Lakers are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 road games.
When the Lakers are road underdogs, 11 of their last 13 games have gone under the total. The Under is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings in Oklahoma City between the two teams.
