Only two games remain in Kobe Bryant’s legendary career and the entire world—even his haters—is definitely cherishing every single moment. But before the tears start falling, tonight is going to be another exciting night for every basketball fan as Bryant and the rest of the Los Angeles Lakers will look to get one over the Oklahoma City Thunder in their regular-season finale. Can they succeed in doing so? Or more importantly, can Kobe and Kevin Durant provide us one more epic duel to remember?
Read on below for a detailed breakdown of this Western Conference showdown. And for more NBA action, check out our preview of the Atlanta Hawks and Cleveland Cavaliers.
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Los Angeles Lakers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder Betting Preview
Where: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
When: Monday, April 11, 2016, 8:00 PM ET
Line: Los Angeles Lakers (+16) at Oklahoma City Thunder (-16); total: 215.0– view all NBA lines
TV Broadcast:TWSN, FSOK
Betting on the Los Angeles Lakers (16-64)
[sc:NBA250 ]The Los Angeles Lakers are having their worst season in franchise history. They are 16-64 right now and that record could go even lower with two more games remaining on their schedule. But fortunately, fans all over the planet still want to watch the purple and gold because of Kobe Bryant, who is hanging it all up in less than a week.
Tonight though, Bryant, who is posting 16.7 points this season, will be playing for the final time the Kevin Durant-led Oklahoma City Thunder and it’s safe to say, he’ll try to do everything he can to bid one of their Western Conference rivals a memorable farewell.
The chance of another vintage performance from Bryant seems like a long shot especially since the Lakers are coming off a relatively competitive match with Houston just last night. And speaking of which, the Black Mamba gave us a glimpse of his old dominant self in that outing by exploding for a team-high of 35 points despite the eventual loss.
Besides him, the Lakers can look to their trio of promising youngsters in D’Angelo Russell (13.3 PPG), Jordan Clarkson (15.5 PPG) and Julius Randle (11.5 PPG) for some much-needed contributions. All are scoring double-digits throughout the season and Randle, in particular, has been arguably the most impressive and consistent with a total of 34 double-doubles under his belt.
Ultimately, the Lakers will need to step on the gas on the other side of the floor in order to give themselves at least a fighting chance. They’ll be matching up with the Thunder, who are the second-best offensive team in the league right now with 110.3 points per game.
Los Angeles, which is allowing 106.7 points per game, is 0-10 SU and 2-8 ATS in its previous 10 road games.
It’s safe to say that the Oklahoma City Thunder have their sights on the upcoming playoffs. They’ve already locked up the Northwest Division title and most likely the fourth seed in the Western Conference as well. But one last match with Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers might just trigger some fire within the Thunder.
Kevin Durant, specifically, is bound to come out firing from all cylinders in this final showdown against his longtime basketball idol. Durant, the third-leading scorer in the NBA, really loves competing against the Lakers. He is averaging ridiculous numbers of 27.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.9 dimes across 28 career games against Los Angeles.
Also, Durant heads into this game having scored 26 or more points his last six games. That stretch includes four-straight 30-point outputs against San Antonio, Toronto, the Clippers and Rockets.
Of course, Russell Westbrook deserves the same amount of attention that Durant does. The 27-year-old All-Star has been a menace in so many different ways this season. Westbrook is averaging 23.6 points, 7.8 rebounds and 10.4 assists, while piling up a league-high of 17 triple-double performances.
All in all, as long as Durant and Westbrook deliver the goods, it’s almost impossible to see the Thunder lose this favorable game against a lowly Lakers squad.
OKC is 6-4 SU and 4-4-2 ATS in its last 10 home games.
Writer’s Prediction
OKC (-16) wins this one by 10 or more points, but you can still expect an entertaining one-on-one showdown between KB and KD.
