OKC Thunder vs LA Lakers Match Preview, Prediction, Betting Odds & Spreads - April 8th, 2022 | NBA Season 2021-22

The Thunder will face the Lakers for the last time this season on Friday.
The Thunder will face the Lakers for the last time this season on Friday.

The OKC Thunder will close their 2021-22 season in California, starting with a game against the LA Lakers on Friday at Crypto.com Arena. OKC is improbably leading the season series 2-1 and could clinch it in their final meeting.

Head coach Mark Daigneault’s team is headed to the lottery yet again and will be using their remaining two games to give exposure to their young roster. They were pummeled by the playoff-bound Utah Jazz in their last game but have found another potential diamond in the rough in rookie Jaylen Hoard.

Hoard has shown impressive form and could become another important piece in General Manager Sam Presti’s jigsaw puzzle.

The Lakers’ disastrous season is about to come to a merciful end. LA will play their last game at Crypto.com Arena before they pack up and finish their campaign on the road against the Denver Nuggets on Sunday.

Without the superstar trio of LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, and Anthony Davis, the Lakers lost their eighth consecutive game.

Talen Horton-Tucker scored a career-high 40 points against the Golden State Warriors but could not lead the undermanned LA team to a win.


Match Details

Fixture: OKC Thunder vs LA Lakers | 2021-22 NBA season

Date & Time: Friday, April 8; 10:30 PM ET (Thursday, April 9; 9:00 AM IST)

Venue: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA


OKC Thunder Preview

The Thunder will only get better next season. [Photo: NBA.com]
The Thunder will only get better next season. [Photo: NBA.com]

The OKC Thunder are decimated by injuries, which will give them an even better excuse to test their young lineup. They are somewhat in a win-win situation as they give their youthful group valuable NBA experience while also increasing their chances of better draft positioning.

Despite their inexperience and disadvantage in talent, the Thunder stayed relatively close to the Utah Jazz until they were left in the dust in the fourth quarter.

Rookie Jaylen Hoard had another spectacular game, finishing with 23 points on 8-17 shooting from the field, including 5-8 from long distance.


OKC Thunder Predicted Lineup

G - Zavier Simpson | G - Vit Krejci | F - Georgios Kalaitzakis | F - Jaylen Hoard | C - Isaiah Roby


LA Lakers Preview

The Crypto.com Arena crowd will get one last look at one of the biggest busts in NBA history.
The Crypto.com Arena crowd will get one last look at one of the biggest busts in NBA history.

In hindsight, the LA Lakers’ catastrophic season could have started when they suffered back-to-back humiliating losses to the OKC Thunder earlier in the season.

The Thunder had no business winning those games, and yet they did. OKC refused to give up and stunned LA despite surrendering huge leads to the star-studded squad.

LeBron James wasn’t around in those two losses, but the Lakers had a healthy Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook. Those defeats were taken as minor blips owing to a lack of chemistry when there were already signs of how dysfunctional the team will be this season.

It’ll be interesting to see how the LA Lakers play their last home game in front of a testy home crowd who have regularly booed and heckled them this season.


LA Lakers Predicted Lineup

G - Talen Horton-Tucker | G - Malik Monk | F - Austin Reaves | F - Stanley Johnson | C - Dwight Howard


OKC Thunder vs LA Lakers Betting Odds & Spreads - April 8, 2022

TeamRecordMoneylineTotal Points (Over and UnderPoint Spread
OKC Thunder24-56 +290 Over 227.5 (-110)+8 (-110)
LA Lakers31-49 -380 Under 227.5 (-110)-8 (-110)

The OKC Thunder lineup is probably unrecognizable to casual fans and non-Thunder followers. Without their top players like Josh Giddey, Lu Dort, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, they are rolling out some interesting lineups. They will obviously be the heavy underdogs against the LA Lakers.

The Lakers, without LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook, will be playing the second night of a back-to-back. History shows that although they are the odds-on favorites to win, they should never count out the gutsy Thunder.

Odds sourced from DraftKings SB


OKC Thunder vs LA Lakers Betting Tips

OKC Thunder Betting Tips

  1. Oklahoma is 9-3 against the spread in their last 12 games.
  2. The Thunder are 4-1 against the spread in their last five matches against the Lakers.
  3. The Thunder are only 1-6 in their last seven games away from their home floor.

Click here to bet against the odds on the OKC Thunder

LA Lakers Betting Tips

  1. LA is only 2-5 against the spread in their last seven games.
  2. The total has gone UNDER in 14 of LA Lakers' last 19 games against an opponent in the Northwest Division division.
  3. The total has gone UNDER in 4 of the LA Lakers' last six games played in April.

Click here to bet on the OVER/UNDER total points


Thunder vs Lakers Match Prediction

Both teams may just be ready to pack it in for the summer since they don’t have much to play for. The Lakers, based on a little edge in manpower, could end their eight-game losing run.

  1. Oklahoma City is 6-0 against the spread in their last six matches versus the Lakers on the road.
  2. LA is 2-9 against the spread in their last 11 games versus Western Conference opponents.
  3. The Lakers are only 1-4 straight up in their last 5 Crypto.com Arena games.

Click here to bet on DraftKings SB for the outcome of the game between the OKC Thunder and LA Lakers


Where to watch the OKC Thunder vs LA Lakers game

The NBA League Pass will stream the game live. Local coverage of the matchup is available via Spectrum SportsNet and Bally Sports Oklahoma.

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Edited by Rachel Syiemlieh