The San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder will meet for the first time this season and neither side had been able to get all their wheels rolling. could this game be what will ignite the Thunder to make a run towards a wide-open division title? Will the Alamo hold long enough for reinforcements to arrive for the Spurs?
Thunder at Spurs
Spread: San Antonio PK (-110) at BetDSI Sportsbook
Total: o/u 198.5 points (-110)
Shorthanded Clippers can’t put together a decent 48 minutes, lose again
To be fair to OKC players, they’ve already put up a show against the sorry Bulls, so it’s hard to blame them for sleepwalking through the second half after opening up a 24-point first half lead in the 92-79 victory on Wednesday night. It was their third consecutive win, a season high. On the other hand, these wins don’t mean much, except they add to the total. The Thunder defeated discombobulated Clippers, the lowly Mavericks and then the Bulls. They haven’t been able to answer any question about their game in these losses, and while it may give them more confidence going forward, I’m not sure that this team needs it – they’re not very humble anyways.
In the first quarter, the Thunder came out looking to put a stamp on this game early. The defense was stifling, the hands were active and the Thunder forced 8 turnovers and in the quarter. Also, the Thunder only gave up two made field goals and 7 total points. The Thunder led 27-7 after the opening frame. Sure, the opposition is so bad that it looks like they sometimes defend themselves, but it doesn’t change the notion that Oklahoma City was playing well. After it was done, there was nobody left in the building that believed the Bulls could pull back. The Thunder simply cruised from there, but were also outscored from that point onwards. In the 2nd half, OKC was outscored 45-34 and managed to make only 3 non-three-point shots the entire second half. They were 4-20 from three-point range. Against about any other team in the league, this would result in a loss, despite the big first-half advantage. Westbrook fueled the Thunder attack scoring 21 points (17 of which in the second quarter), 7 assists and 5 rebounds. Carmelo Anthony pitched in 18 points and 11 rebounds. Paul George scored just 13 points, shooting just 4-of-15.
The Thunder were without services of their Kiwi center Stephen Adams, so they played small most of the way. Small did not equal fast in this one though, and is a sign of how the next game will be played if Adams (questionable, calf) is to miss another one.
Place: AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas
Date/Time: Friday, November 17th, 2017. 8:00 PM ET
TV Coverage: ESPN
The Spurs split a back-to-back on the road, return to safety of their home
For most Spurs fans, the NBA season is yet to begin. It’s been 15 games already, but one cannot escape the feeling that everything the Spurs had been doing is threading the waters until they get their leader, Kawhi Leonard back. On some nights, and usually against bad teams, the Spurs can win with fundamentals. On nights like Wednesday in Minnesota, when their aging legs couldn’t lift them to shoot a decent percentage, they fall with ease of a really bad team.
The Spurs are the only team to hold the Wolves below 100 points this season, and they did it both times – in the season opener, and last night, when Karl-Anthony Towns celebrated his birthday with a 98-86 victory for the home side. The Spurs are also the only the Wolves have beat this season while scoring fewer than 100 points. Defense wins games, but not all of them – after holding the river in the first quarter, all gates opened in the second during the bench time, and the Wolves flooded them with 39 points in the quarter. This kind of offensive output the Spurs simply can’t match. Not by shooting 41.8 percent from the field and hitting just 7-of-24 three-point attempts. LaMarcus Aldridge had 15 points and 10 rebounds despite being in foul trouble and Gasol added 13 points, but neither was very efficient. The bench unit has played poorly on both sides of the court. Ever since Gay’s leg pain returned, he hasn’t been the same guy for the second unit, and Manu didn’t have it on the tail end of a back-to-back. They need scoring punch from their reserves, but all of them are very limited in this regard. The good news is that Patty Mills works well with the starting unit and he has lifted his game after a miserable start to the season. Once Parker and Leonard return, these bench lineups will change yet again and perhaps benefit from his confidence.
Joffrey Lauvergne returned to his backup duties in the last game, providing the Spurs with some much-needed bulk and agility in the paint and showing no ill effects from the injury that has held him sidelined for six games. Parker and Leonard are not expected to make a season debut before December.
Oklahoma City Thunder at San Antonio Spurs Game Trends & Prediction
After covering in the last three games, the Oklahoma City Thunder are now 7-7 against the spread this season, a significantly better record than the one from a week ago. They are only 2-5 on the road though, and one of those wins came in Chicago. People have been cashing in on their total points, fading the overs. The Thunder are 4-10 against the over/under overall, and just 1-6 when on a travel.
The Spurs enjoyed a similar level of success, and with a similar distribution. They have started this season with 7-8 ATS record overall, a split in which most of the wins come at home (6-2). Also, on the total market, the Spurs have stayed under the projected lines on 9 of 15 occassions, and most of the overs happen at their home in San Antonio.
Admi-Rank: The Spurs don’t have enough talent to keep good rating for long, as their results oscillate too much. The Thunder have been more steady, but are still looking up to the better teams. They need to start winning on the road to be considered a serious challenger.
Both of these teams need wins, as they came below what is the usual or expected level. The Spurs can look themselves in the mirror and be happy for what they have done, but this doesn’t change the fact that no help is at hand in nearby future, and once it arrives, top playoff spots may be too distant. The Thunder know that it’ll take some time to make things work, but they’ve been healthy and have played poorly against better teams, and on the road.
The books are undecided here, selecting a pick-em approach, which is really surprising, despite the Thunder having the star-appeal for the public punters. The Spurs have been struggling to contain Westbrook in the past, but it was a different type of the Spurs team, one that was far more susceptible to transition points and hard drives to the rim. Also, Westbrook now has to defer to his big name teammate, who are not giving them much of a return. With Adams under a question mark, there’s a slight possibility that you could get a better price on the game day, but I’m still going with the home side early, as it’s a great value for the money.
The total is set at 198.5, as the books are trying to fade any value on the unders, which does seem to be a more popular side here. The actual fair line is 201, and Adams doesn’t play much of a factor here, and for what he does, it negates any value on the over side. No bet on totals.
My Pick: San Antonio PK (-110)
Total: (no total points wager here)
