Lakers vs Thunder Preview: Call For Help
The struggling Lakers travel for a tough matchup with the Thunder on Saturday
The Los Angeles Lakers are far from what anyone would ever call a good NBA team. Unfortunately for them, they’ll be on the road on Saturday afternoon for a matchup with one of the league’s best teams in the Oklahoma City Thunder.
OKC’s superstar duo of Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant presents a more than formidable challenge for the loss-happy Lakers. The Thunder have a sizable advantage in top-end talent, in depth, and in not-having-Byron-Scott-running-things-from-the-sideline-ness.
The Lakers are almost surely going to lose on Saturday. It’s better to just go ahead and accept that fact and then move on. Westbrook and Durant can eat most any defense in the NBA alive, much less a regularly atrocious Lakers defense. Even a role player like Enes Kanter has the chance at a big game against this Lakers defense.
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With that in mind, there is still value to be fished out of this game for the Lakers, even from a big loss if that’s how things play out. Scott could still use this opportunity to give the young guys like D’Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson, and Julius Randle the chance to see what it’s like to go up against two of the league’s best.
Moreover, fans have to hope that the Lakers can at least show the ability to stay engaged and give adequate effort for 48 minutes, even if things get ugly. Tha’s been somewhat of an issue at times for the Lakers this season, but it’d be a promising sign to see this team compete for an entire game, even in defeat.
Again, there’s not much room for optimism in this matchup. But perhaps the Lakers can still put forth a satisfactory showing despite not having much of a shot at toppling OKC.
Los Angeles Lakers at Oklahoma City Thunder
Date: Saturday, Dec. 19
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Start Time: 2 p.m. PT
Location: Oklahoma City, OK
Arena: Chesapeake Energy Arena
TV Info: TWC Sportsnet
Live Stream: NBA League Pass
Radio: 710 AM ESPN
Betting Odds
Point Spread: Thunder -16
Moneyline: Thunder -2300, Lakers +1750
O/U: 208.5
Prediction
Final Score: Oklahoma City Thunder: 121, Los Angeles Lakers: 99