With the Super Bowl madness finally behind us, the focus completely shifts to the NBA now — and what a treat we have coming our way on Monday. The defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder head to Los Angeles for a date with the Lakers in what could be a preview of a Western Conference series down the road. Tipoff is scheduled for 10:00 pm ET on Peacock, and I have prepared a Thunder vs Lakers parlay priced at +447 odds.
We hit 3 of our 4 SGPs over the weekend, including Rockets vs Thunder at +422 and Warriors vs Lakers at +355 on Saturday, as well as Clippers vs Timberwolves at +507 on Sunday. Let’s keep it rolling! You can also lock in our expert NBA picks for each of Monday’s 10 matchups.
Lakers ML (+198)
Austin Reaves to score 20+ points (-138)
Chet Holmgren 1+ made threes (-430)
Thunder vs Lakers parlay odds: +447
Head to BetMGM for the best odds on our Thunder vs Lakers SGP, where new users can click here to sign up now and receive up to $1,500 back if your first bet doesn’t win, along with a $50 BetMGM Reward Points Bonus!
Thunder vs Lakers parlay pick: LA Lakers ML over Oklahoma City Thunder (+198)
Losing SGA to an injury is proving to be a stumbling block for the Thunder, who have now lost back-to-back games. For any other team in the NBA, that would be nothing out of the ordinary, but for the 40-13 Thunder it’s always a stunner when something like this happens. Despite the losing streak, they head into LA as favorites to take on the Lakers — hoping to go up 2-0 in the regular season series following a 121-92 win against them back in mid-November.
Meanwhile, the Lakers will be full of confidence following their third win in a row. Playing without Luka Doncic wasn’t detrimental as we thought it would be — at least not against a team like the Warriors, whom they disposed of 105-99. LA has played only 22 home games this season compared to 29 on the road, so you could say that a favorable stretch is coming for them and it’s important to stay locked in.
The offense hasn’t collapsed without Doncic as many people thought it would. Austin Reaves is back from injury and doing his best to fill in the gaps. With the addition of Luke Kennard, I think the Lakers will improve a fair bit from downtown. The Lakers have the advantage of playing at home, plus the Thunder just played yesterday and lost to the Rockets — which means they had very little time to rest and recover, preparing for this game. I’m going for the upset win.
Read our Thunder vs Lakers prediction
Thunder vs Lakers SGP pick: Austin Reaves to score 20+ points (-138)
Getting Austin Reaves back from injury could not have happened to the Lakers at a better time. Luka Doncic has been lost to an injury for the next couple of weeks, which is a devastating blow for LA’s offense. However, with Reaves back they once again have 2 scorers on the team capable of giving them 20+ points on any given night — or in Reaves’ case even more than that. In just his second back from a long layoff, he dropped 35 on a strong 76ers team — so scoring 20 shouldn’t be too big of an ask from the shooting guard.
Reaves has cleared this line in 69% of games played this season (18 of 26), while at Crypto.com Arena he has done it in 9 of 13. Playing against the likes of Alex Caruso and company will be a challenge — but one that Reaves will welcome. He has scored at least 20 in 2 of the last 3 meetings with OKC. A strong performance from him gives the Lakers a chance to pull off the upset.
Find out our expert’s NBA best bets for each of tonight’s 10 matchups
Thunder vs Lakers SGP pick: Chet Holmgren 1+ made threes (-430)
We all know Chet Holmgren isn’t your traditional center. The Thunder big man would rather step outside and shoot the deep ball instead of taking the ball to the rim and attacking. And that’s perfectly fine for the way today’s NBA is being played. Holmgren is shooting the 3-ball at a consistent 35.7% this season, and on the road that goes slightly up to 36.1%.
With the Thunder’s top 2 scorers, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jaylen Williams, both out, the responsibilities on offense for Holmgren should go up significantly if the Thunder want to get a result here. Backing him to make just one triple has resulted in a profit in almost 72% of his games this season (33 of 46), so I feel really confident he can clear this line on Monday. Entering this game he has done it in 4 of the last 5 — while against the Lakers head-to-head he is currently on a streak of 7 consecutive games with at least one 3 made.
Get our 5-star 76ers vs Trail Blazers best bet for today
Click here to add us to your Google preferred sources and never miss a story
