The Oklahoma City Thunder travel to the Nation’s Capital to test the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night.
Oklahoma City is 3-7 SU in their last 10 games played and head to this game with a four-game losing streak. In their last game, the Thunder lost to the Denver Nuggets 99-95. They are 13-26 on the season and have the second-worst record in the West although they are just 2.5 games behind 10th place and a play-in tournament spot.
Washington is 20-20 on the season and they are in third place in the Southeast Division. The Wizards are 5-5 SU in their last 10 games played and they are coming off a win over the Orlando Magic in their most recent outing. The Wizards are in 9th place in the East and would be in the play-in tournament if the playoffs began today.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is having a superb season, averaging 21.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game this season. Lu Dortz is contributing 16.3 points and 4.1 rebounds while rookie Josh Giddey leads the team in rebounding at 7.5 boards per contest and assists at 6.4 dimes per outing while also scoring 11 points per game. Darius Bazley is putting up 8.8 points and 1.3 blocks per game.
The Thunder are the lowest-scoring team in the NBA this season at 99.6 points per game. They are 6th in rebounding at 46.1 boards grabbed per contest and last in passing at 20.7 assists per game. The Thunder defense is ranked 13th at 107.3 points per game allowed this season.
Bradley Beal leads the Wizards in scoring at 24.0 points per game while also grabbing a team-high 6.4 rebounds per game. Kyle Kuzma is having a fine season at 15.3 points and 8.2 rebounds per game while Montrezl Harrell is putting up 14.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per contest. Spencer Dinwiddie and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope are also scoring in double figures at 13.1 and 11.5 PPG, respectively.
Washington ranks 21st in the league in scoring at 107.3 points per game. They are 19th in rebounding at 44.5 boards grabbed per contest and are 20th in scoring defense at 109.6 points per game conceded this season. The Wizards are also 15th in passing at 23.9 assists per game.
Oklahoma City is 1-6 SU in their last seven games played. The Thunder are 1-4 SU in their last five games played on the road. Washington is 6-12 SU in their last 18 games played. The Wizards are 2-5 SU in their last seven games played at home.
Head to head, the Wizards are 7-3 SU in their last 10 games played against the Thunder. Washington is also 12-5 SU in their last 17 home games against Oklahoma City.
Kyle Kuzma is in a groove right now, scoring at least 21 points in each of his last seven games while posting a double-double in four of those games, including that 27 pts and 22 rebounds performance against Orlando.
With Kuz providing Bradley Beal ample scoring support, the Wizards should be able to outgun the Thunder who are just 20th in the league in scoring. The Wizards are knocking at the 500 mark in this game and should have more motivation than the Thunder, who while being very competitive, have not been good enough to pick up enough wins.
Washington simply has more to offer on offense. With Kuzma waxing hot, the Wizards will be tough to stop in this game. Give me the home team and the favorites.
Prediction: Washington Wizards
The Thunder are 4-1 ATS in their last five games played. OKC is 11-7 ATS in 18 road games played this season, 4-1 ATS in their last five games as betting underdog, 6-2 ATS in their last eight games after a straight-up loss, 11-4 ATS in their last 15 games as road underdogs, 19-7 ATS in their last 26 games after an ATS win, 20-8 ATS in their last 28 games when their opponent allows more than 100 points in their previous game, and 5-2 ATS in their last seven games when playing on one day rest.
The Wizards are 6-15-1 ATS in their last 22 games after allowing more than 100 points in their previous game, 2-5 ATS in their last seven games after a straight-up win, 5-15 ATS in their last 20 games after scoring 100+ points in their previous game, 3-9 ATS in their last 12 games as betting favorites, 2-7-1 ATS in their last 10 games after an ATS loss, 5-22 ATS in their last 27 Tuesday games, and 1-10-1 ATS in their last 12 games against an opponent with a losing straight up record.
Head to head, the Thunder are 3-1 ATS in their last four games played against the Wizards.
Despite their terrible win-loss record, the Thunder are the third-best ATS team in the NBA this season at 25-14 ATS. However, aside from being competitive, the Thunder have also been lucky with their ATS plus/minus only listed at +0.5 points.
Washington is under .500 against the spread, with an ATS record of 18-21. However, they too have been competitive as their ATS plus/minus is just -1.6 points per game. With the Wizards getting Montrezl Harrell back and Rui Hachimura continuing to get back in shape, the Wizards should have the upper hand in scoring.
Prediction: Wizards -9.5
The total has gone under in five out of the last six games played by the Thunder. The under is 4-0 when their opponent scores 100 or more in their previous game, 5-1 in their last six games as betting underdog, 4-1 in their last five games after a straight-up loss, 7-2 in their last nine games when playing on one day rest, and 6-2 in their last eight games when their opponent allows more than 100 points in their previous game.
The total has gone under in four out of Washington’s last five games as betting favorite. The under is 9-2 in their last 11 home games against an opponent with a road winning percentage of less than .400, 12-3 in their last 15 home games against an opponent with a losing road record, 13-6 in their last 19 games as a home favorite, and 6-1-1 in their last eight home games after a straight-up win.
Head to head, the total has gone under in four out of the last six meetings between these two teams.
OKC’s offense has struggled this season as they are the lowest-scoring team in the NBA at 99.6 points per game scored. They have hit the under in 24 of their 39 games including five out of their last six. These include four games where the total failed to reach 200 points.
Washington is scoring better than OKC but is in the bottom 10 in scoring offense at 107.3 PPG. The Wizards have shown that they can keep up with any opponent in a high-scoring game but with the Thunder’s offensive struggles this season, the Wizards will be content with doing enough to win the game. Not only is Washington’s ATS plus/minus just -1.6 points, their margin of victory this season is just at 2.3 points per game. That shows they just keep pace with what their opponent gives them. With the Wizards not giving much, this should be a low-scoring game.
Prediction: Under 216
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