LA made some bold moves before the trade deadline, particularly with regards to its management staff that now has Magic Johnson as its new president of basketball operations. He quickly went to work by trading the team’s leading scorer Lou Williams to the Rockets in exchange for Corey Brewer and an unprotected first round pick.
With Williams gone, there’s more time for the young core to develop—the Lakers’ main focus for the remainder of the season. Luke Walton’s offense will now center on the trio of D’Angelo Russell, Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson, who are each averaging no less than 13 points per game.
There’s also Nick Young who’ll continue to jack up as much threes as he always does. He’s posting exactly 13.8 points per game while shooting at a team-high 41.3 percent from down town.
The biggest problem for purple and gold is still their defense, which ranks second-worst in the league in defensive efficiency. Brewer’s addition should help them improve in this area, as he brings into the table intangible things that the Lakers lack: aggression and tenacity.
The Lakers are 2-8 SU and 6-4 ATS in their last 10 road games.
OKC, too, made some big moves before the trade deadline, adding Taj Gibson to strengthen the interior and Doug McDermott for more perimeter shooting. Along with those two, the team might also have its leading bench scorer return—Enes Kanter, who broke his forearm in January.
This is very, very good news for Russell Westbrook. Not only does he have more weapons to pass to, he’ll also have more space to create for himself, and continue his personal onslaught to what has been a record-breaking season for the UCLA product.
Westbrook is averaging 31.1 points, 10.5 rebounds and 10.1 assists this season, including a league-leading 27 triple-doubles. He should easily live up to those eye-popping numbers in this favorable contest against a Lakers side that plays almost zero defense.
The Thunder have won their last 12 home games versus the Lakers, going 10-2 ATS in that span.
