The Oklahoma City Thunder head to the Lone Star State to take on the San Antonio Spurs in a showdown between two Western Conference super powers.
The Thunder are currently third in the Western Conference team standings while the Spurs occupy the six spot but are just 2.5 games behind Oklahoma City.
Oklahoma City’s ascent in the Western Conference team standings has hit a snag as the Thunder have lost two in a row after losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night. During that game, Russell Westbrook took two game-winning three point baskets but missed both, enabling the Wolves to escape with a 119-117 victory. Oklahoma City is still 3rd in the West but with the Top 7 separated by only four games, the Thunder need to get back to their winning ways.
Paul George leads the Thunder scoring parade with 26.8 points per game while also grabbing 8.0 rebounds and issuing 3.9 assists per game. Russell Westbrook is having another triple double season with 21.2 points, 10.8 rebounds and 10.3 assists per game average. Steven Adams has been solid 15.4 points and 10.2 rebounds per game.
The Thunder are ranked 13th in the NBA in team scoring at 111.7 points per game. Oklahoma City averages 22.3 assists per game which puts them at 24th in the league. They are also 3rd in rebounding at 48.5 boards per contest and the Thunder are also the 7th best scoring defense team at 106.1 points per game allowed.
The San Antonio Spurs’ five game winning streak ended on the road on Wednesday night The Spurs lost 86-96 to the Memphis Grizzlies who ended a six game losing streak with the victory. The loss was San Antonio’s third in their last 12 games. The Spurs have won 13 out of their last 17 games to take a share of the lead in the Southwest Division.
DeMar DeRozan leads San Antonio with 22.6 points and 6.4 assists per game. LaMarcus Aldridge is the team leader in rebounds with 8.6 boards grabbed per contest. Aldridge is also contributing 20.0 points per game and is averaging 23.5 points per game in their last 10 games played. Veteran Rudy Gay is having a good season with 13.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.
The Spurs rank 11th in the league in three major statistical categories and these are points scored per game (111.9 PPG), passing (24.9 APG) and points per game allowed (108.6 PPG). San Antonio is also ranked 20th of the glass with their 44.3 rebounds per game average.
The Thunder are 5-5 SU in their last 10 games played. Oklahoma City is 12-9 SU on the road this season. The Spurs are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games played. San Antonio is 17-5 SU at home this season. Head to head, the Thunder are 6-4 SU in their last 10 games played.
The Spurs are 1-6 in the second game of back to back schedules. San Antonio is yielding 108.6 points per game this season but in the second of back to backs, the Spurs have allowed 121.1 points per game. The Spurs are coming off a double digit loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday and right away, they head back home for a date with the Thunder.
Rudy Gay missed his second straight game with a sprained left wrist and if he sits this one out, I think the Thunder are going to run away with this game behind Westbrook and George. We’re picking the Oklahoma City Thunder to beat the San Antonio Spurs on 1/10/19.
The Thunder are 22-18 ATS in 40 games played this season. Oklahoma City 12-9 ATS on the road this season. The Spurs are 25-16 ATS in 41 games played this season. San Antonio is 16-6 ATS at home this season. Head to head, the Spurs are 4-1 ATS in their last five meetings against the Thunder.
The Thunder are 1-4 ATS in their last five games against the Southwest division and 1-4 in their last 5 meetings against the Spurs. The Spurs are 35-17 ATS in their last 52 home games played, 9-1-1 ATS in their last 11 against Western Conference rivals. San Antonio is also 15-5-1 ATS in their last 21 games overall. The trends point to San Antonio and if you’re a fan of trends go with the Spurs. But I like the Thunder here because they have the better team and San Antonio may be without Rudy Gay. Prediction: Thunder -1
The total has gone under in 22 out of the 40 games played by the Thunder this season. Oklahoma City has seen the under hit in 15 out of 21 road games played so far. The over is 23-17-1 in the first 41 games of the Spurs. Head to head, the under is 7-3 in their last 10 meetings.
The under is 5-2 in the Thunder’s last seven games overall but the over is 4-1 in the Spurs’ last five games overall. This one’s OKC’s under vs San Antonio’s over. Given San Antonio is playing on back to back games and OKC is well rested, I think OKC’s defense will set the tone for this game. Prediction: Under 224.5
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