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We now have three nights of the NBA Playoffs, with two games each night. It’s a similar story almost every night. On Monday we saw the Knicks take out the 76ers and the Timberwolves barely beat the Spurs. On Tuesday, the Pistons won a closer game against the Cavs, while the Thunder killed the Lakers. Last night, the Knicks narrowly escaped against the 76ers and the Spurs eliminated 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 faces the Phoenix Suns in Game 3 of their 2026 NBA Playoffs first-round series. (Ross D. Franklin/AP)
If there’s going to be a blowout, it’ll be the Los Angeles Lakers who get smoked again. In the first game, the Lakers faced the Thunder during the first half of the game. It looked like it was going to be pretty competitive, considering Los Angeles went into the locker room with just eight points at halftime. The problem was that all of the Lakers’ goals came in the first half. They only had 37 of their 90 points in the second half. Collectively, 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 little. I guess the simplest thing is to say Austin Reaves needs to be better. He played 36 minutes and scored just eight points on 3-of-16 shooting. Part of that has to do with the Thunder’s defensive prowess, but a lot of it has to do with the fact that he’s rusty from missing time. He’s probably not completely healed either. It would also help if they got some contributions from their bench. The team only had 15 bench points. The Thunder’s Jared McCain had 12 points of his own.
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dribbles against the Washington Wizards during the second half at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on October 30, 2025. (Alonzo Adams/Imagn Images)
The Oklahoma City Thunder are on their way to the championship. To be honest, if they lose more than three games in the playoffs, I’ll be shocked. They would need a significant injury to lose. How good are they? They’ve won all five games in the playoffs and 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 regarding the Thunder isn’t whether they will win, but rather whether anyone will scare them.
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Game 1 wasn’t even the Thunder’s best work. Sure, their defense was solid to hold the Lakers to 90 points, but the offense wasn’t so sharp. They still scored 108 points. They also had a long rest between games, so I think we’ll see their offense improve in this one. They swept the Suns on April 27. The Lakers were scheduled to play 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 the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas on April 24, 2026. (Kenneth Richmond/Getty Images)
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander only scored 18 points in Game 1, which is the first time since Game 3 of last season’s Western Conference Finals that he failed to reach 20 points. He scored 40 in the next match. The books expect him to break out again with a 29.5 total tonight. I think he exceeds the total. I expect the Lakers to be more aggressive and better on offense. This would be a scatter game for me though.
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My official play is to go over 210.5 for the match. There really isn’t a ton of offense in Los Angeles 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 correlates with the total passing. Give me more than 210.5.
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