Doncic Remains Out, Ayton Probable vs Thunder

Written by Malcolm Xavier of The Lakers Room

The Lakers embark on one of their tougher back to backs penciled in for this season. The top two seeds in the West at each end with the first leg tonight vs the defending NBA Champion Oklahoma City Thunder and again tomorrow night at home vs the second seeded San Antonio Spurs. Shai Gilgeous Alexander is ruled out for the Thunder but OKC is still a strong betting favorite with the Lakers minus league leading scorer Luka Doncic. One bright spot (possibly) for LA is the return of Deandre Ayton who's listed as probable which should supply more depth in the interior with Maxi Kleber coming on as of late potentially becoming another serviceable option in the big man rotation.

Look for a big night from Austin Reaves and an upset win from the Lakeshow. Luke Kennard is playing in his second game after scoring 10 points in his debut and helping push the pace along with not stopping the ball and scoring at will at the rim off the threat of his three point shot, expect another solid showing. Last time these two teams met the Thunder routed the Lakers 121-92 at the Paycom Center in a contest that got ugly in the first quarter and saw the Lakers down 32 by half in a contest with 20 turnovers. LeBron was still out for this November 12th matchup.

Sidenote: The Lakers are tied with the Nuggets and Houston Rockets in the loss column at 19. If LA wins tonight and Denver loses the Lakers would be effectively tied for the third seed in the Western Conference standings.