Preview of Thunder vs. Lakers

The Oklahoma City Thunder are hoping to put that overtime loss to the Denver Nuggets behind them as they look forward to taking on the Los Angeles Lakers in Orlando on Wednesday.

The game is set to tipoff at 5:30 p.m. and will be shown on ESPN and Fox Sports Oklahoma. You can also tune in on 98.1 FM in Oklahoma City or 97.1 FM in Tulsa.

Here are some things you should know before the game:

The Lakers

The Lakers clinched the No. 1 seed in the West when they defeated the Utah Jazz 116-108 on Monday. The last season the Lakers made the playoffs, you ask? That would be the 2012-13 season. They also haven’t been a No. 1 seed since 2010, so the present Lakers are mighty hungry.

King James is looking for his fourth NBA championship and the six-time All-Star leads the league with 10.4 assists per game. The team looks to sweep the series 4-0 heading into Tuesday game. Since clinching the top spot in the conference, look for the team to be laid back and having some fun.

The Thunder

The Thunder looked good against the Utah Jazz, and I had high hopes for them as they entered the matchup against the Nuggets.

But those hopes and dreams sort of fell flat after the Thunder squandered a 7-point lead with 4 minutes left in regulation and Chris Paul missing a free throw to clutch the fourth seed in the West.

On top of all of that, the team will be dealing with some issues in their rotation. The Thunder will be without Dennis Schroder, who left the team for the birth of his daughter, Mike Muscala is out due to a concussion. And Terrance Ferguson will probably miss the game since he missed Monday’s game due to a bruised lower leg.

Another stat that will probably stab you in the heart - in their first two officials games in the Bubble, OKC is averaging 18 turnovers.

Ouch.

I hate to say it, but the Lakers will have some fun at the expense of the Thunder and more than likely will win the game by ten or more points.