NBA Picks: Can reeling Thunder hold down Lakers out West? 11/22/16

OKC losing ground in Northwest Division

No matter how great a job Russell Westbrook does on a nightly basis, the Thunder’s leader can’t possibly mask the entirety of the organization’s warts. That’s especially true on the defensive end.

Oklahoma City hopes to clean up some of its glaring deficiencies against the Lakers in several hours. Online sports book Bovada.lv gives Billy Donovan’s club odds of -155 to halt a rough string of results on the road. Conversely, Los Angeles represents a +135 underdog.

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At 28, Westbrook’s nearly averaging a triple-double for the season. Even so, Oklahoma City continues to struggleto stay above .500. After a 6-1 start, the team has dropped five of the past seven contests.

The primary culprit: uneven play on both ends of the floor. OKC allows opponents to score 103.8 points per game. The squad also seems careless with the basketball, having committed total turnovers.

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Fortunately, the Lakers find themselves in a bit of a funk right now. Chicago’s Jimmy Butler torched Luke Walton’s bunch for 40 points over the weekend, and it’s hard to not imagine Westbrook inflicting comparable damage. Bank on the Thunder to seize control early and hardly relent down the stretch.

 

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