NBA Playoff Upset Alert – Oklahoma City Will Beat Lakers In Game 1

Can the Oklahoma City Thunder shock the world by upsetting the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round? Probably not. Can they steal the first game of the series and put the Lakers on their heels? Absolutely.

The Lakers are a formidable team, and this isn’t me taking them lightly. I’ve picked them as the Western Conference champions this season, but there are some chinks in the sterling armor of the defending NBA champions. They may not be enough for me to sway my choices in NBA futures betting, but it does concern me enough to tread lightly with my first round betting.

Kobe Bryant is injured. His finger is bothering him more than he’s admitting. The fact that Andrew Bynum hasn’t been seen in nearly a month should also raise some hairs on the necks of Lakers’ betting backers. I also don’t trust how lazy the Lakers have been at home, gong just 1-6 ATS in their past 7 home stands. To put it simply, Phil Jackson’s boys are playing with a sense of entitlement.

#8 Oklahoma City Thunder (50-32) vs. #1 Los Angeles Lakers (57-25)
Sunday, April 18th — STAPLES Center —3:00pm EST
NBA Betting Line: Lakers -7.5 (196.5)

Sometimes it takes a lot to wake a sleeping giant, no matter how much that team has experienced the playoffs, and the Oklahoma City Thunder have the right amount of youthful exuberance and punch to stun the Lakers in the first game of the series. People can hate on the fact that the Thunder are inexperienced, but at least for this game I can sense an upset in the air.

One thing I can’t get past is Kevin Durant getting tooled by Tyler Hansbrough in the NCAA Tournament last year. That’s as close to a playoff experience as Durant has had, and he came up short. If anybody has matured his game, himself and his teammates, it’s Durant who walked away from the regular season as the scoring champion with 30.1 points per game.

Oklahoma City has also faired well against the Lakers in the past. They’re 4-2 ATS in their last 6 games at the STAPLES Center, and they’re 8-5-2 ATS in their past 15 games against the Lakers overall. I don’t think the Lakers will lay down and let the Thunder walk all over them in a confusing opening game to this attractive series.

What I envision is a young, hungry underdog walking in to hazardous enemy territory and seizing the moment. The Thunder have done enough against the betting line when playing the Lakers to deserve a nod as an upset specialist.

Furious Free Pick: Oklahoma City +7.5 (OVER)