The Los Angeles Lakers play host to the Oklahoma City Thunder at Crypto.com Arena on Friday.

The Thunder (36-37) have been one of the biggest surprises in the NBA, sitting eighth in the Western Conference standings. Many experts thought this team would battle for lottery balls this year, but the rebuild has come quicker than anyone could have anticipated. Jalen Williams has developed into one of the most dangerous rookies in the NBA, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is an all-pro player. That's scary because we haven't even seen Chet Holmgren, and they also have a gluttony of first-round picks in the coming years. They do need to be careful to hold this spot, though, because the New Orleans Pelicans are only 0.5 games behind, sitting 12th in the conference.

The Lakers (36-37) picked up a critical win on Wednesday, moving them into a play-in spot. They're now tied with the Dallas Mavericks for ninth and 10th in the west, which is quite the accomplishment since this club started with a disastrous 2-10 record. They've also been playing much better recently, winning 10 of their last 15 games in total. They've done most of that damage with LeBron James sidelined, and it's unclear when the superstar will be ready to return. Austin Reaves has been one of the best players in his absence, providing a career-high in scoring over the weekend and then dishing out a career-high in assists on Wednesday.

These teams have played twice this season, with the road team splitting those two matchups. That gives the Lakers 11 wins in their last 16 matchups with the Thunder in total.