All Lakers Expert Predictions For Tonight's OKC-LA Thursday Night Clash

LA gears up for its second game of a back-to-back.

Hot off a decisive 133-107 victory over the Detroit Pistons, your Los Angeles Lakers are hoping to wrap up their four-game road trip on a winning note tonight against a much tougher foe.

The 11-8 Lakers head to Paycom Center, where they'll try to take down the upstart 11-6 Oklahoma City Thunder. The action tips off at 5 p.m. PT tonight.

Here are our expert predictions ahead of the bout.

D'Angelo Russell had by far his best game of the year last night. Is he ready for an encore performance?

D-Lo puts up crazy numbers against inferior teams, but can be a nuisance on offense if his shot isn't falling. He scored 35 points on 13-of-17 shooting from the field, dished out nine dimes, and pulled down four rebounds, blocked two shots, and swiped a steal.

Will Darvin Ham continue to start Max Christie over Cam Reddish?

Ham replaced Austin Reaves with Reddish in his starting lineup a few weeks ago. Reddish then went down last week with a right groin strain, and Christie has performed admirably. The MSU product started over the Dukie yesterday, but in a game LA would surely like to win (i.e. not a game where the team is checked out), one wonders how he'll perform. Reddish should start.

The Lakers are +6 underdogs tonight, against the younger, longer, switchier Thunder. Can they cover? Can they win?

I am dubious that the more exhausted Lakers will actually be able to mount a full-throated challenge to the better-rested OKC. That said, I could see LA falling back by double digits midway through the fourth quarter, then crawling its way back into the game in the waning minutes of regulation, and finally falling just short due to an over-reliance on LeBron James to create offense, poor three-point shooting, and the fact that the team will be out of gas having just burned through all of it.

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