NBA Playoff Thursday Best Bets: Cavs vs. Pistons, Lakers vs. Thunder Game 2 Picks

The Lakers might need all five defenders on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but even that may not be enough.

Game 1 showed just how massive the gap is between Los Angeles and the defending champion Thunder, especially with Luka Doncic sidelined. Oklahoma City dominated despite SGA scoring only 18 points, while Cleveland faces its own issues after Donovan Mitchell and James Harden struggled again in a rough Game 1 loss to Detroit.

The pressure is officially on for both underdogs heading into Thursday night.

It seemed like the Los Angeles Lakers had two or three players defending Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on every possession of Game 1. Hate to break it to Lakers coach JJ Redick but upgraded to all five might be what LA requires to compete with the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night.

The tactics were worth a try but Oklahoma City still won by nearly 20 points. How bad is the margin going to be when SGA breaks out for 35 or 40 points in a game? He had 18 in the opener as the Thunder won 108-90 in the Western Conference second-round matchup.

The Cleveland Cavaliers also got off to a poor start in their Eastern Conference series against the Detroit Pistons. The Cavaliers might need to send out a search party to find the real Donovan Mitchell, who hasn’t reached 30 points since hitting the mark in each of the first two games of the first-round series against the Toronto Raptors.

LOS ANGELES LAKERS AT OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER

Oklahoma City’s easy Game 1 victory makes it clear this series will be decided in four or five games. It will be a stellar accomplishment for the Lakers to play a Game 6 but it doesn’t seem possible with their top player, Luka Doncic, out with a hamstring injury.

LeBron James (21-plus points, -117) was solid with 27 points on 12-of-17 shooting and Los Angeles still couldn’t come close to an upset. James might have to kick it back into his form of five or six years ago and push 40 – points, not age – for the Lakers to claim Game 2.

Chet Holmgren was one of the many Oklahoma City players who flourished while SGA was being surrounded and he had 24 points and 12 rebounds. Holmgren (17-plus points, -111) should routinely get the better of Deandre Ayton and the Thunder also have Isaiah Hartenstein in the interior.

Gilgeous-Alexander (30-plus points, -102) surprisingly attempted just three free throws (making two) in Game 1. He figures to be closer to 30 points on Thursday and that generous Lakers’ point spread will be easy to bypass after Los Angeles managed just 90 points in the opener.

Thunder plus 15.5-point spread, -110 (DraftKings)

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS AT DETROIT PISTONS

The Cavaliers are counting on Mitchell to find his big-game form as he hasn’t scored more than 24 points in any of the past six games. Mitchell (25-plus, -107) is just 8-for-29 from 3-point range over the past three games and has taken just 11 free throws over the past seven games.

James Harden (20-plus points, -107) doesn’t have trouble getting to the line – he was 9-of-9 in the 111-101 Game 1 loss – but he’s also struggling from behind the arc with 3-of-16 shooting over the last three games. Cleveland can’t win this series if their two star guards aren’t knocking down shots and are committing turnovers (a combined 10 in Game 1).

Detroit’s defensive pressure was stellar in Game 1 and the Pistons scored 31 points off 20 Cleveland miscues. Backup Daniss Jenkins had four steals to help the Pistons hold the Cavaliers to 25 or fewer points in three of the four quarters.

Cade Cunningham (28-plus points, -116) had 23 points and seven assists and Tobias Harris (19-plus points, -107) contributed 20 points and eight rebounds. Big man Jalen Duren (12-plus rebounds, -108) had 11 points and 12 rebounds on a night in which Cleveland center Jarrett Allen (two points, three boards) was a non-factor.

Pistons minus 3.5-point spread, -105 (DraftKings)