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We now have three nights into the NBA Playoffs with two games each night. It has been a similar story for almost every night. On Monday, we saw the Knicks blow out the 76ers and the Timberwolves barely beat the Spurs. On Tuesday, the Pistons won a closer game over the Cavs, while the Thunder killed the Lakers. Last night the Knicks narrowly escaped the 76ers and the Spurs blew out the Timberwolves. Will we get a repeat of a close game and blowout on Thursday’s slate?
Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander drives to the rim against the Phoenix Suns in Game 3 of their first-round series in the 2026 NBA Playoffs. (Ross D. Franklin/AP)
If there is a blowout, it will be the Los Angeles Lakers who get smoked again. In Game 1, the Lakers hung with the Thunder for the first half of the game. It looked like it was going to be pretty competitive considering Los Angeles went into the locker room down just eight at halftime. The problem was that all the scoring for the Lakers came in the first half. They had just 37 of their 90 points in the second half. Overall, the team shot 41% from the floor, 33% from deep and 77% from the charity stripe.
In this game, they have to change their strategy a bit. I suppose the easy thing is to say that Austin Reaves should be better. He played 36 minutes and scored just eight points on 3-for-16 shooting. Part of that is the Thunder’s defensive prowess, but a lot of it is also him being rusty from a lack of time. He probably isn’t healed all the way either. It would also help if they got some contributions from their bench. The team only got 15 bench points together. Jared McCain of the Thunder had 12 points alone.
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dribbles against the Washington Wizards in the second half at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on Oct. 30, 2025. (Alonzo Adams/Imagn Images)
The Oklahoma City Thunder are on the march to the championship. To be honest, if they lose more than three games this postseason, I’d be shocked. They would need significant damage to lose. How good are they? They have won all five games in the playoffs and they don’t even have their second best player. Sure, the Lakers are missing their best player, but they’ve only played one game. The biggest question surrounding the Thunder isn’t whether they’ll win, it’s whether anyone will even scare them.
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Game 1 wasn’t even the best work from the Thunder. Sure, their defense was strong to hold the Lakers to 90 points, but the offense wasn’t that crisp. They still got 108 points. However, they also had a long break between games, so I think we will see their offense improve in this one. They swept the Suns on April 27. The Lakers were scheduled to play on April 29 and May 1.
LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers gestures during the pregame ritual before the first quarter against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas on April 24, 2026. (Kenneth Richmond/Getty Images)
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored just 18 points in Game 1, the first time since Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals last season that he didn’t reach 20 points. He scored 40 in the next game. The books expect him to go wild again with a total of 29.5 tonight. I think he goes over the total. I expect the Lakers to be more aggressive and better on offense. This would be a sprinkle game for me though.
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My official bet is to take over 210.5 for the game. There really isn’t a ton of Los Angeles offense to speak of, but if they can get to 100 points, or even 95, I think the Thunder will take over from there. I would expect Gilgeous-Alexander to have a better game, and that has to do with the total going over. Give me over 210.5.
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