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Veteran point guard Marcus Smart served as a finger in the dam for the Los Angeles Lakers when Austin Reaves was out of the lineup.
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Now that Reaves is back and rolling, Smart should be taking a step back in terms of his shooting activity. That hasn’t been the case.
Our Thunder vs. Lakers predictions believe that if L.A. is going to climb out of a 0-2 hole versus the Oklahoma City Thunder, it needs less shooting and more playmaking from Smart.
My NBA picks like Smart to top his assist prop in Game 3.
Thunder vs Lakers Game 3 prediction
Thunder vs Lakers best bet: Marcus Smart Over 3.5 Assists (-115)
When Austin Reaves was out, Marcus Smart filled that scoring role. And when Reaves returned at the end of Round 1, naturally, Smart’s shots slimmed.
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Through two games with the Oklahoma City Thunder, however, Smart is a collective 8 for 28 from the field. He’s not who the Los Angeles Lakers need shooting the ball.
Rather, the Lakers need Smart to set up Reaves, LeBron James, and Rui Hachimura.
Smart has dished out five and seven assists so far and has recorded four or more dimes in six of eight playoff outings. Yet, his assist total for Game 3 sits at 3.5 O/U.
Saturday’s projections lean toward four assists from Smart.
Covers
COVERS INTEL:
Marcus Smart is actually second on the team in touches in Round 2, ahead of LeBron James. He’s generated 12 dimes from 16 potential assists vs. OKC and is averaging 5.6 assists on 9.8 potential assists per game for the playoffs.
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Thunder vs Lakers Game 3 same-game parlay
Game 3 will be just the second time the Thunder have been single-digit favorites in the postseason. Despite covering big piles of chalk at home, OKC didn’t look dominant in those wins. Instead, Oklahoma City slowly drifted away from the Lakers.
Los Angeles’ frustrations are starting to boil over, and we’ve seen OKC crush a much stronger version of this L.A. team at times in the regular season. I like them to cover the modest -8.5 in La-La Land on Saturday.
Chet Holmgren is the MVP for this…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/thunder-vs-lakers-prediction-picks-171800838.html
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Publish date : 2026-05-08 17:18:00
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