Oklahoma City Thunder vs Brooklyn Nets Predictions and Odds Jan 13
Oklahoma City Thunder vs Brooklyn Nets Betting Preview
WagerTalk NBA handicapper Tony Finn offers his Oklahoma City Thunder vs Brooklyn Nets betting preview for Thursday, January 13. At the time of posting, the Nets have opened as a 5.5-point home favorite over the Thunder, with the total sitting at 216.5 points.
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| Thursday, January 13 | NBA Betting Notes |
|---|---|
| Point Spread: | Oklahoma City Thunder +5.5 at Brooklyn Nets |
| Total: | 230.5 Points |
| Game Time: | 8:30pm ET / 5:30pm PT |
| Arena: | Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY |
| TV: | YES Network |
Oklahoma City Thunder vs Brooklyn Nets Analysis
The Oklahoma City Thunder (13-27, 5th in Northwest Division) are in the Big Apple for a Thursday night non-conference contest against the Brooklyn Nets (26-14, First in Atlantic Division). The Thunder came out of an arduous fought affair versus the Wizards on Tuesday, which resulted in a 122-118 loss to Washington. The Thunder took the Wizards to the wire as 7-point road underdogs. OKC took the straight-up loss but was again covered as a road underdog.
The line movement in this early Thursday night matchup came from the news that Brooklyn will rest their leading scorer Kevin Durant. Tonight’s event will be the second and final game between these two teams. In mid-November, the first of the two regular-season events found Durant having his way with the Thunder defense scoring 33 points in a 120-96 victory by Durant and his Brooklyn mates.
Westgate of Las Vegas opened this NBA matchup with the Nets as 9.5-point home favorites. The game total was posted at 215.5 points. When this betting preview went to press, Westgate of Las Vegas had a total of 15 line changes for the matchup, and there are still nearly 8 hours until the game tips. Without Durant, the Nets have fallen from being nearly double-digit home chalk to a 5.5-point favorite, with the game total the same as it was in the overnight posting.
Thundering Road Warriors
Despite sitting in the 15th of 16 Western Conference slots of the standings and owning the second-worst record in having the fourth worst season mark in the entire league, the Thunder are 12-4 against the spread across their last 16 games as a road underdog.
The contrary of Brooklyn in the health container in Oklahoma City. The Thunder are without but two bench contributors for tonight’s tilt at Barclays Center. Forwards Isaiah Roby and Kenrich Williams scored 6.7 and 7 points, respectively. So the two OKC swings have been ruled out for tonight’s affair.
OKC is 2-8 straight up across their last ten games. However, the troupe is 6-4 against the spread. The six covers the Thunder have earned came as 1.5-point dogs versus the Pelicans, 2.5-point puppies against the Knicks, 10-point dogs in a West matchup vs. the Mavericks, 9.5-point doggies in a game in Minnesota against the Timberwolves and were getting 7-points against Denver and this past Tuesday in Washington vs. the Wizards.
The Thunder have averaged 101.5 points while shooting 41.5% from the field in those last ten games previewed above. OKC has surrendered an average of 108.6 points to their opponents.
Brooklyn Bridge is Falling, Falling, Falling
The first place Atlantic Division Nets have ruled out six major contributors on game night. The six-pack of inactives are as follows;
Brooklyn Nets Injury Report:
LaMarcus Aldridge (foot) 13.3 ppg
Nicolas Claxton (hamstring) 9.2 ppg
Kevin Durant (rest) 29.7 ppg
Joe Harris (ankle) 11.3 ppg
Kyrie Irving (non-vaxed and prohibited from playing in the state of New York) 17.7 ppg
Patty Mills (rest) 13.2 ppg
The six Brooklyn inactive tonight combine to average 84.4 points per game. The Nets are off a no-sweat rout of the Bulls last night in Chicago. However, Durant was spot on last night, scoring 27 points, James Harden added 25 points plus a season-high 16 assists, and Brooklyn earned a 138-112 win in a matchup between the Eastern Conference’s top two teams.
In six back-to-back situations this season, Brooklyn has yet to record a sweep. The Nets have split each of the consecutive game scenarios. One of the primary reasons for failing to earn a 2-0 mark in the two games in two nights is the lack of quality depth on the Nets roster.
Oklahoma City Thunder vs Brooklyn Nets Prediction
The announcement this morning by head coach Steve Nash that Durant and Mills would be inactive because of rest was a surprise. The Nets’ first five played short minutes in the beatdown of the Bulls last night. Durant didn’t see the court in the final quarter.
The projected starting five for Brooklyn tonight average 47.7 points combined. The Nets are 11-10 straight up on the Barclay hardwood, and one of those wins was fortuitous. Rookie Cam Thomas threw up a prayer that backed off the backboard and through the net in overtime to defeat the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday. The “I called glass” winning shot ended a Brooklyn five-game home losing streak.
OKC is currently riding the back of a five-game losing streak but was again competitive and in line to steal a victory in Washington on Tuesday night. Oklahoma City scored its second-most points of the season in the 122-118 loss, shot 48 percent in the game, and failed to hold the lead late in the fourth quarter because the Wizards were hitting nearly everything they threw to the rim, shooting 54 percent on the night.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points in an efficient performance for the Thunder in Washington. Rookie Josh Giddey, who added 18, has scored in double figures in five straight games, and I expect both to duplicate their game numbers tonight in a straight-up win over the short-handed Nets.
According to CleaningTheGlass, the Nets rank 22nd in the frequency of opponent attempts at the rim. The Thunder leads the league in drives per game and ranks 14th in the frequency of shots at the rim. The WagerTalk pick to click tonight in Brooklyn is a play on the Thunder plus the points. Feel comfortable sprinkling 20 percent of your game investment on the OKC money-line of +200 for good measure.
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Oklahoma City Thunder vs Brooklyn Nets Preview from GoldSheet
Brooklyn won the first meeting this season back on Nov. 14, with a 120-96 spanking of the Thunder, with Kevin Durant scoring 33 pts. with 8 boards and Patty Mills had 29 pts. (9 of 12 from deep) making up for an off shooting night for James Harden (1 of 8 on his treys). The Nets are coming off a statement game at Chicago, executing the Bulls like toreadors on a sunny afternoon in Madrid, skewering their foe 138-112 at the United Center. Kevin Durant had 27 and James Harden 25 and 16 assists for the Nets, while Mills had 21 on 7 of 10 shooting (6-8 treys). Oklahoma City G Shai Gilgeous-Alexander broke out of his recent shooting dip (39% shooting previous 4; 21% from beyond the arc L4) on Tuesday, dropping 13 of 22 shots for 32 pts with 8 assists, and rookie G Josh Giddey, recently returned from quarantine has been at a healthy 15 ppg 9 rpg and 8 apg over his last 6 games. Brooklyn’s 3-16 spread mark as home chalk and a 1-7 spread mark last 8 major negatives, and Steve Nash smart enough to conserve his team’s energy in the long haul of the NBA season.
Play Oklahoma City.
NBA Stat Sheet
Each day, WagerTalk handicapper Ralph Michaels puts together his NBA Stat Sheet, which offers a head-to-head comparison for how teams are performing in a number of key areas heading into a game. Check out Thursday’s sheet, with notes on tonight’s Oklahoma City Thunder vs Brooklyn Nets contest.
NBA Tip-Off Show
Join Joe Raineri and a rotating panel of guests for the NBA Tip-Off Show at 4:15pm ET / 1:15pm PT as we discuss tonight’s marquee games. Stay up-to-date on the latest NBA news, stats, analysis, and predictions with our panel of professional handicappers as they preview tonight’s NBA action, including this Oklahoma City Thunder vs Brooklyn Nets clash, from a betting perspective.
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