Lakers vs. Thunder prediction, odds, line, spread, start time: 2023 NBA picks, Mar. 1 best bets by top model
The Oklahoma City Thunder (28-33) are set to host the Los Angeles Lakers (29-33) on Wednesday at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City. The Thunder are 17-14 at home, while Los Angeles is 14-19 on the road. The Lakers had a three-game winning streak snapped on Tuesday in their 121-109 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. The Thunder will be looking to snap a four-game slide after falling to the Sacramento Kings 123-117 in their last outing. The Lakers will be without LeBron James (foot), Anthony Davis (foot), and D'Angelo Russell (ankle). Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (ankle) is out for OKC.
Tip-off is at 8 p.m. ET. Oklahoma City is favored by 1 point in the latest Thunder vs. Lakers odds from Caesars Sportsbook, and the over/under is set at 229. Before locking in any Lakers vs. Thunder picks, you'll want to see the NBA predictions and betting advice from the proven computer simulation model at SportsLine.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past four-plus seasons. The model enters Week 20 of the 2022-23 NBA season on a stunning 57-30 roll on all top-rated NBA picks this season, returning nearly $2,300. Anyone following it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Thunder vs. Lakers and just locked in its picks and NBA predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see the model's picks. Here are several NBA betting lines for Thunder vs. Lakers:
- Thunder vs. Lakers spread: Thunder -1
- Thunder vs. Lakers over/under: 229 points
- Thunder vs. Lakers money line: Oklahoma City -120, Los Angeles 100
- Thunder vs. Lakers picks: See picks here
What you need to know about the Thunder
OKC was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap on Tuesday as they fell 123-117 to the Sacramento Kings. A silver lining for OKC was the play of small forward Jalen Williams, who had 27 points and eight assists in addition to five rebounds.
The Thunder will be without their top scorer, point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, for this matchup. In his absence, OKC will lean heavily on guards Josh Giddey (16.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, 5.8 assists per game), Luguentz Dort (14.0 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists per game), and Williams (12.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists per game).
What you need to know about the Lakers
Meanwhile, the Lakers ended up a good deal behind the Memphis Grizzlies when they played on Tuesday, losing 121-109. One thing holding Los Angeles back was the mediocre play of point guard Dennis Schroder, who did not have his best game: he picked up four fouls and turned the ball over six times en route to a 10-point finish.
Allowing an average of 117.9 points per game, Los Angeles hasn't exactly asserted themselves on the defensive end. Things will be all the more difficult for the Lakers with Anthony Davis, D'Angelo Russell, and LeBron James all sidelined on Wednesday. Los Angeles will be looking for strong performances from Malik Beasley (13.2 points, 2.7 rebounds per game) and Lonnie Walker IV (13.0 points, 2.1 rebounds per game) against the Thunder.
How to make Lakers vs. Thunder picks
The model has simulated Thunder vs. Lakers 10,000 times and the results are in. We can tell you that the model is leaning Under on the point total, and it's also generated a point-spread pick that is hitting in almost 70%of simulations. You can only see the model's pick at SportsLine.
