Los Angeles Lakers at Oklahoma City Thunder Sun. Feb. 27, 2011 2:30 p.m. EST

The two-time NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers might have been struggling heading into the All-Star break losing three straight and falling to arguably the worst team in the league in the Cleveland Cavaliers, but they have gotten back on track recently with some big wins and much needed confidence moving forward.

Even though the Lakers might be back on track and shooting for the second seed in the Western Conference, they will have their work cut out for them in the second half of the season against some of the best teams in the conference. The San Antonio Spurs are the cream of the crop in the West right now and don’t seem to be giving up much ground as they will almost certainly be the number one seed heading into the playoffs.

As for the rest of the West, the Oklahoma City Thunder have just made a deal to increase their size and chances to contend with bigger teams like the Los Angeles Lakers. Whether or not the newly acquired Kendrick Perkins will be given the green light on Sunday against the Lakers remains to be seen, but the Thunder may have become a vastly improved basketball team with the addition of Perkins and backup point guard Nate Robinson.

If Perkins is good to go for Sunday’s game in Oklahoma City, the Lakers will have one hell of challenge ahead of them as they will almost certainly struggle to contend with the size and speed of this up and coming franchise.

This trade with the Boston Celtics may have drastically changed the odds for this game as the Oklahoma City Thunder will most likely be the favorites to come out on top. Even though the defending champs will put up a fight, the Thunder should get the win here in my opinion.

For Sundays games, the following online sportsbooks have the best spreads for NBA betting:

BetDSI Sportsbook:
Spread: Los Angeles Lakers +1 & Oklahoma City Thunder -1
Moneyline: Los Angeles Lakers & Oklahoma City Thunder - NA
Over/Under: Los Angeles Lakers 110 over & Oklahoma City Thunder 110 under (201)

BetDSI Sportsbook:
Spread: Los Angeles Lakers +1 & Oklahoma City Thunder -1
Moneyline: Los Angeles Lakers & Oklahoma City Thunder - NA
Over/Under: Los Angeles Lakers 110 over & Oklahoma City Thunder 110 under (201)

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