The Los Angeles Lakers are on the road against the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night.
The latest: OKC faced the Golden State Warriors last night and ran away with a 24-point victory. The Thunder are 5-0 at home, hosting a Lakers squad that is 5-1 so far on the road.
Check out my Lakers vs. Thunder picks for Nov. 12, featuring Luka Doncic and Marcus Smart.
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Lakers vs. Thunder picks
Best bet: Doncic over 3.5 threes (-115)
Oklahoma City was the best defensive team in the league last season, and so far that reputation is holding up this year.
If there's one place to try to attack the Thunder, it's on the perimeter. And I'm sure Doncic is more than happy to do that.
- Doncic is on a scoring rampage so far, averaging 37.1 PPG through seven games.
- His 3-point shooting hasn't been particularly efficient, but the volume has been steady. He has 10+ attempted 3s in all seven games, averaging 3.9 makes on 32.1% shooting.
- Doncic is 5-2 vs. this line — including 3-0 on the road.
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Oklahoma City allows the eighth-most attempted 3s per game, as well as the seventh-highest 3PT% (37.3).
Last year, in two games vs. OKC while playing for the Lakers, Doncic shot 8-for-18 (44.4%) from deep and went 1-1 vs. this number.
If the 3-point shot volume stays where it is, this line will be playable any night.
Key stat: Doncic is averaging 3.8 threes since the start of the 2023-24 season, and his 12.0 attempts/game this year is on track to be a career-high.
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L.A. vs. OKC props
Smart 4+ assists (+125): OKC is excellent at disrupting the flow of an opponent's offence, which explains why the team has allowed the fourth-fewest assists per game so far.
Still, I think Smart is worth taking a flier on at this plus-money price. He's third among facilitators on the Lakers, behind Doncic and Austin Reaves, but he still gets involved a fair amount.
-> Check out tonight's Lakers vs. Thunder prop markets
- Since joining the starting lineup on Oct. 26, Smart has averaged 4.4 assists in seven games. In that span, he's averaging 7.6 potential assists, which denotes passes that lead directly to a shot.
- Smart is 6-1 vs. this line in his past seven games.
For eight straight seasons from 2016-24, Smart averaged at least 4.0 APG. He knows how to dish the rock when given the opportunity.
Lakers vs. Thunder picks made at 9:16 a.m. ET on 11/05/2025.
