Thunder vs. Lakers Prediction, Odds and Best NBA Prop Bets for Tuesday, April 7

The Los Angeles Lakers’ 2025-26 season basically came to an end last week in a blowout loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, as both Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves suffered injuries that could keep them out of the first round of the playoffs.

The No. 4 seed in the West, L.A. is coming off a loss to the lowly Dallas Mavericks on Sunday, and it has a makeshift roster around 41-year-old star LeBron James heading into Tuesday’s rematch with OKC.

The Thunder are set as road favorites in this game, and they’re looking to lock down the No. 1 seed in the West for the third straight season.

OKC has the best net rating in the NBA, and guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has stormed to a -2000 favorite in the latest MVP odds.

L.A. is looking to weather the storm into the playoffs, but will it get Doncic or Reaves back in time to win a playoff round? The latest timeline for both players makes that hard to expect, as they’re both out around four-plus weeks.

As for Tuesday, there are a bunch of ways to bet on this showdown, and I’m eyeing one game pick and one prop bet to help bettors navigate a loaded NBA slate.

Thunder vs. Lakers Odds, Spread and Total

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Spread

Thunder -16.5 (-115)
Lakers +16.5 (-105)

Moneyline

Thunder: -1800
Lakers: +1000

Total

221.5 (Over -110/Under -110)

Thunder vs. Lakers How to Watch

Date: Tuesday, April 7
Time: 10:30 p.m. EST
Venue: Crypto.com Arena
How to Watch (TV): Spectrum Sportsnet, FanDuel Sports Network (Local)
Thunder record: 62-16
Lakers record: 50-28

Thunder vs. Lakers Injury Reports

Thunder Injury Report

Thomas Sorber – out
Jalen Williams – out

Lakers Injury Report

Luka Doncic – out
LeBron James – questionable
Austin Reaves – out
Marcus Smart – out

Thunder vs. Lakers Best NBA Prop Bets

Lakers Best NBA Prop Bet

LeBron James UNDER 9.5 Assists (-141)

In today’s best NBA props column for SI Betting, I broke down why I’m fading LeBron if he suits up on Tuesday:

James is questionable for Tuesday’s game with the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the Los Angeles Lakers are massive underdogs with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves out.

While James has thrived as a passer with Doncic out, I can’t imagine the Lakers playing him extended minutes in a game that the team is very likely to lose. James had just two assists in last week’s meeting with the Thunder, and OKC is No. 1 in the league in defensive rating and No. 5 in opponent assists per game.

LeBron is averaging 7.1 assists per game in the 2025-26 campaign, but this number feels a little too high, especially if he’s pulled early with the Lakers expected to lose big.

Thunder vs. Lakers Prediction and Pick

I don’t love laying this many points with the Thunder, but I do think there’s some value in betting the OVER after the Lakers allowed 134 points to a tanking Dallas team on Sunday.

The Thunder exposed L.A.’s defense with Marcus Smart out of the lineup last week, scoring 139 points in a 43-point win.

Now, the Lakers are down Smart, Doncic and Reaves, which could open the floodgates for OKC on Tuesday night. The Thunder are averaging the fifth-most points per game in the NBA (119.2), so it’s very reasonable to expect that this game will get well over 221 combined points.

Both of these teams have hit the OVER in the majority of their games, and the Lakers combined for 262 points in the first game since the Doncic and Reaves injuries against a much lesser opponent.

OKC’s offense should be able to carry this total, and I wouldn't mind an OVER bet on the Thunder team total as well on April 7.

Pick: OVER 221.5 (-110 at DraftKings)

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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Find Peter Dewey's NBA betting record here (futures included). You can also follow my daily plays on BetStamp here.

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