Los Angeles Lakers vs Oklahoma City Thunder Prediction: Record-breaking LeBron takes the limelight

The NBA Regular Season has been in the trade deadline category and this has been an inspirational season for experts. They have been enamored by the new development where Kyrie Irving went to the Dallas Mavericks to join Luka Doncic in what looks like a brilliant backcourt. Another interesting development is LeBron chasing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the number-one scorer. He is getting closer to the dream and here his Los Angeles Lakers are going to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder in an inter-Conference scenario. Will he play here and potentially break the record?

The Lakers enter the game after losing 126:131 against the New Orleans Pelicans despite a 34 points and 14 rebounds performance by Anthony Davis. This was the third loss in five games for the team that refuses to get in the rhythm. Due to this constant stream of losses and the inability to build winning streaks, they have collected 29 losses and 25 wins. While LeBron need not prove his credentials, he must have liked a high-yielding season as the one where he breaks the scoring record. Anyway, the narrative of his scoring record has temporarily shifted the attention away from the team that has one of the most unreliable units in the league.

The Thunder come into this game after a huge 114:141 loss against the Golden State Warriors despite a 20 points outing by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. This was their fifth loss in eight games and despite a strong window in January, they have now faced 28 defeats and have just 25 wins. The team's defense has been a bit inconsistent while the exhaustion is showing on the young players. Shai has kept the steam up but the rest of the unit has faltered a bit lately. The defense of the team has shown to be effective so maybe, this is a temporary slump. But this is a young unit so such windows can be heart-shattering. Will the Thunder rediscover their mojo?

The Lakers have been playing some sloppy ball and the same goes for the Thunder. This game can mean much more than a win or loss column because this is where LeBron can become the all-time number-one scorer, a place he may hold for decades(Doncic and Giannis wink). The Thunder will play the second game in a row away from home so I favor the motivated Lakers. I predict a scoreline of 123:114 in the Lakers’ favor.