Basketball Playoff Picks – Thunder at Lakers Game 5

With the momentum clearly leaning on their side, the impressive Oklahoma City Thunder visit the Los Angeles Lakers tonight at 10:30 PM ET at Staples Center for Game 5 of the series.

NBA Betting Odds:

Oklahoma City Thunder +6.5
Los Angeles Lakers -6.5
O/U 194

NBA betting fans should know the only moment where the Thunder were off in this series was in the first quarter of Game One; after that, they have been really competitive and have showed character in hard situations.

In both games played in Oklahoma, the Lakers were off. They seemed out of form sometimes and were outplayed by a talented young team. It’s clear to me that if they want to avoid losing at home they need Kobe to score early in the game.

A Los Angeles newspaper reported that Bryant is suffering from several injuries, including one to his finger. Kobe scored only 12 points in the disappointing 110-89 loss in Game Four, but it’s hard to believe he will have back to back awful games.

On the other side, the Thunder need to keep up their offensive rhythm with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook leading on the offensive side of the ball.

Basketball betting fans must consider that Oklahoma was one of the best teams against the spread all season, while the Lakers were not so much; in a close series like this, I will always take a look at the points if Oklahoma City is the underdog, just like tonight.

Keep in mind that the Thunder are 6-2 ATS as a road underdog of 3.5 to 6 points, plus 8-2 ATS in road games where the total is between 190 and 194.5 points and 10-3 ATS when playing with 2 days rest.

The Lakers are 1-3 ATS as a home favorite of 3.5 to 6 points and 17-25 ATS in home games, not to mention 13-25 ATS in the second half of the season.

5 of 7 games played in Los Angeles in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons.

My pick: Take the Thunder and the points.