Posted at 12:00 PM EST. Odds subject to change.

Pinnacle +102 BET365 -105 Sportsinteraction -105

Oklahoma City moneyline over L.A. Lakers

Best Odds: +102 at Pinnacle 

10:40 PM EST. Hopefully some of you got to watch ESPN's broadcast of the OKC Thunder vs. Phoenix Suns last night. Not only was it a win for this site, but there were a few things that should have jumped out to you that can help you with future wagers. 

Last night, the most noticeable difference between the Thunder and Suns, two teams that popular media wants you to believe are equally elite, was teamwork. The Thunder just executed better, at the game's most pressurized moments, and it made all the difference. Early on the Suns blitzed the Thunder at home, knowing the visitors might be caught off guard, and they went up 17-6 out the gate. It didn't matter. OKC began playing their typical brand of pesky, suffocating defense, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander took over on offense, and guys like Isiaiah Joe, Chet Holmgren, and Luguentz Dort started nailing threes and drawing fouls. They ended up winning the first quarter, 28-24. OKC maintained a lead for most of the game thereafter, although they let Phoenix surge in the fourth quarter to take a lead (101-96) with just 8 minutes left. But then, once again, the visitors took over. Led by SGA, the Thunder outscored the Suns 22-9 on their opponent's home floor from that point on, securing another win and another ATS cover.

Game to game, few teams exhibit the same moxie and chemistry as the OKC Thunder. Tonight we expect more of the same. Sure, this is a prototypical fade spot for some NBA bettors, especially those who use scheduling situations as their primary angle, since OKC is on a road back-to-back. We could care less. For starters, OKC is 7-3 ATS in these "no rest" scenarios, and they've shown no signs of slowing down. Since the All-Star break, OKC's only loss came against the Spurs last Thursday, an affair that they clearly overlooked. Since Feb 1 they're 9-3 straight up, and after last night's victory, they now sit in the #1 spot in the Western Conference. That's a position they won't want to lose, and we expect them to come out with the same fire that they ended with last night in Phoenix.

The Lakers have plenty of motivation, too, since they're fighting for a playoff spot (they're currently in 10th, the final seed), but starting games  in-sync has hardly been their fortay. The Lakers are one of the worst teams in the association at covering first half spreads this year, going 28-35 for -10.6 units. Only the Jazz, Pacers, Knicks, and Blazers are worse. OKC is one of the best: 35-25 ATS, for +7.3 units. We also don't like the Lake-show's current form. At 39 years old, too much is on LeBron James' shoulders for their roster to be at its best, aka Anthony Davis is still a reluctant star, and lately even when LBJ plays like he's 25, they're still losing. The esteemed legend has led the Lakers in points in four of their last five games, which, unfortunately for Lakers' backers, is not resulting in ATS wins. LAL has only covered 1 of their last 6 contests.

Making matters better for our wager, somehow the Lakers beat the Thunder in their last two battles. The home-team is in a better scheduling spot and they're more desperate, so we won't bet on this for the full game, but we have little doubt that OKC's lightning-pace and exceptional team chemistry will throw off the underperforming Lakers early.

Farley

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