2026 NBA Playoffs: Lakers vs. Thunder Game 2 Best Bets & Predictions (May 7)

The Oklahoma City Thunder appear to be invincible. The defending champs are undefeated in the NBA Playoffs. Most impressively, the team seems to be able to turn the intensity to a higher level at a whim.

On Tuesday in Game 1 of its Western Conference Semifinals series, each time the Los Angeles Lakers crept close in the second half, OKC pressed its sneakers down on the gas pedal.

(Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images)

OKC embarrassed the Lakers by holding them to 37 points in the second half on the way to a ho-hum 18-point thrashing, 108-90. The Thunder are 5-0 so far in the NBA Playoffs.

Oddsmakers at the top NBA betting sites have the Thunder as overwhelming favorites to win tonight in Game 2.

• LA Lakers at OKC Thunder, 9:30 p.m. ET, Amazon Prime Video

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Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Los Angeles Lakers Current Betting Odds (May 7)

Odds in this preview are from BetMGM Sportsbook

Spread

• LA Lakers +15.5 (-115)
• OKC Thunder -15.5 (-105)

Moneyline

• LA Lakers (+600)
• OKC Thunder (-900)

These odds reflect the tremendous success the Thunder have displayed in the postseason the last two years. OKC is 14-2 at home in the playoffs since last season.

Over/Under

• Over 210.5 Points (-110)
• Under 210.5 Points (-110)

Game 2 Injury Report: Lakers at Thunder

• Luka Dončić is Out (LAL)
• Jaylen Williams is Out (LAL)
• Luke Kennard is Questionable (LAL)

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Best Bets Today: Top Picks For Thunder vs. Lakers

For each of these games I'm going one full unit ($100 for my budget). On Tuesday I finished up $140 for my NBA Playoffs best bet picks.

Thunder -18.5

• Oklahoma City -18.5 Points on Alternate Spread (+125 BetMGM)

Did the Lakers play their worst game of the series in Game 1 or was that their best shot? I'm going with TLNTF (The Latter Not the Former) on this one. It's not likely the aging Lakers, led by Ol' Man LeBron James, are going to get more spry as the series moves on. The Thunder are only going to be more of a daunting task now that the teams have squared off once.

Someone once said "When they go low, we go high." In this context I'm applying it to low points totals (more on that below) and a higher point margin. If, as I believe, the Lakers will continue to score, the Thunder have a chance to post an even larger rout in Game 2.

The Thunder won Game 1 by 18. Find the Alternate Spread line in the game details and push it to 18.5. That's how we get +120 for Game 2, which are odds I can get behind.

OKC is averaging 119 PPG in the playoffs, the highest scoring output of the NBA playoff teams. The Thunder are averaging 133 points per game over their last nine home games.

Under 210.5

• OKC vs LA, Under 210.5 Points (-110 BetMGM)

Ball hog and master shooter Luka Dončić will not play tonight. He's been ruled out for Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals due to his Grade 2 left hamstring strain.

Consider this: the Lakers have gone UNDER their own projected team points total in 24 of their last 40 away games. This is not a powerhouse offensive team, especially without Luka.

But that's not the primary reason I'm going UNDER on totals for tonight's NBA playoff game. It has much more to do with the defensive efficiency of the Thunder.

So far in the playoffs, the Thunder have held opponents to a .506 Effective Field Goal Percentage (eFG%), which indicates how well it defends the opposing team from both 2-point and 3-point range. League average is .546 eFG%.

Add in this troubling issue: Lakers sharpshooter Austin Reaves has played three playoff games following an oblique strain that kept him sidelined him for nearly four weeks. Reaves is having troubles getting his stroke back: 2-for-17 from 3-point range. Without his outside threat, who will step up to score for the Lakers? Marcus Smart? Luke Kennard? Bronny? Not likely.

In Game 1 it was obvious the Lakers were hyper-focused on double-teaming Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. That defensive effort cost them energy on the other end of the court. LeBron James blamed Los Angeles' lack of scoring on the fact that the team was spending so much time trying to limit SGA, the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player.

Want one more trend for this playoff season regarding LA points? The Lakers have scored fewer than 100 points in four straight games, and they rank last of the eight teams remaining in the NBA Playoffs in Offensive Rating.

Game Prediction: Thunder romp over weak Lakers

The Thunder are so much better than the Lakers that oddsmakers are requiring you to bet $900 on OKC just to win $100. That's close to the same as 1-to-10 odds.

If this were a horse race, the Thunder would get packed with a few extra hundred pounds just to make the trip around the track fair.

SGA will not be held under 20 points again. In his previous 13 playoff games, the OKC superstar averaged 32.4 PPG and scored at least 20 every time. Today in Game 2, expect SGA to lead the young, athletic Thunder to a thumping over the undermanned and overmatched Lakers.

• Oklahoma City 118, Los Angeles 96