The Oklahoma City Thunder will get another chance to revenge the previous loss to a Western foe when San Antonio Spurs machinery comes to visit. The Thunder are seeking consistency and are much more motivated than the Spurs, who already weathered the storm.
Spurs at Thunder
Spread: Oklahoma City -4.5 (-110) at BetDSI Sportsbook
Total: over/under 199.5 points (-110)
The Spurs win again over Memphis
In San Antonio, the Spurs won by a premier ball movement and deadly execution. In Memphis, the shot wouldn’t go in, so the Spurs turned to the usual forte – they buckled in and won on the defensive side. The final score of 95-79 resembles some of the scores from the past, but San Antonio is the last one to blame why the defense is now a lost art.
The most points the Spurs would allow in a quarter on Friday was 21. It speaks of the pace of the game as much as their ability to shut down opponents, so it was fitting that the key roles were played by ancient players Manu Ginobili, Pau Gasol, Tony Parker and Rudy Gay. LaMarcus Aldridge was still the focal point of their offense, scoring 22 points with a much lesser efficiency than in the first game. Still, the other Spurs felt at home in this kind of a half-court grinding game and reminded us of the days past. Ginobili played 25 minutes in a sixth-man role and the Spurs outscored Memphis by 30 points during his court time. He was responsible for 11 of those, while also grabbing 7 rebounds (second-highest in Spurs team) and spreading the wealth six times. Rudy Gay scored 18 points in 19 minutes, immensely helping relieve the stress of Green missing all of his 7 attempts and Gasol and Parker going just 2-of-6. The Spurs hit a solid percentage on threes (40.7) and it offset a below average (but not poor) night from inside the arc. They struggled at the line, and would have hit triple digits if not for the 22-of-32 shooting at the charity stripe. Their defensive numbers look much better. They’ve held opponents to 40.5 percent shooting, just five made threes and forced 16 turnovers. They’ve also kept the Grizzlies away from the free throw line and let just three players reach double figures.
There were no reports of new injuries since the last game, so the Spurs rotation should remain intact for this game. Leonard isn’t expected back for at least another couple of weeks.
Place: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Date/Time: Sunday, December 3rd, 2017. 7:00 PM ET
TV Coverage: NBATV, Fox Sports Oklahoma, FSSW
Third time a charm: OKC finally beat Minnesota
Many times this season, I criticized Thunder players for not taking advantage of Adams’ movement and roll. They would feed him early, and then forget about him completely and just launch perimeter, usually contested, jumpers. Finally, they’ve realized it and used their Kiwi center to put an extra pressure on their Friday night opponent’s defense, and it led to Thunder 111-107 victory, first in three tries of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Adams finished with a career-high 27 points and was the center of the Thunder offense as it snapped a three-game losing streak. Adams played with a jammed thumb but was still able to shoot 11-of-11 from the field and 5-of-5 from the free throw line, including a critical offensive rebound and putback with 26.2 seconds left to extend the Thunder’s lead to a two-possession game. And when Adams wasn’t scoring, he was turning the game on the defensive end. Leading by 11 with half of a quarter to go, the Thunder’s lead was cut to three in a little more than a minute. In that stretch, the Thunder was called for two offensive fouls and many fans probably thought – here we go again. But, instead of playing the hero ball like they use to, Westbrook and George each played a distributor role, combining for 23 assists. It made all the difference, and the Thunder finally won a close game – they were 0-9 this season in games decided by eight points or less. George and Westbrook still attempted 21 field goals each, with many different results. George was 10-of-21 and hit 5-of-9 threes and all of his 11 free throw attempts to lead the team with 36 points. He also played good D and was +9 on the plus/minus. Westbrook was better as a cheerleader. He shot 6-of-21 and missed all of his 8 perimeter attempts, and had 7 turnovers. He did finish with 9 rebounds and 14 assists but was also -3 during the court time. Anthony had a very quiet game, proving that there’s not enough shots for all three stars if someone else also takes a few.
The Thunder are completely healthy and coach Donovan will have all of his weapons at his disposal. They stay home for the next two games, and with an opportunity to beat teams that handed them losses in early part of the season. After the Spurs, the Thunder will host division rival Utah Jazz on Tuesday.
San Antonio Spurs at Oklahoma City Thunder Game Trends & Prediction
With second consecutive road win, the Spurs improved to 5-5 on the road and 16-7 overall, straight up. While the betting numbers are less impressive, it’s still worth noting that they’ve been able to keep the high standard without an MVP caliber player. Against the spread, they went 11-10-1 so far, and 3-7 on the road. Also, the Spurs are 4-14 ATS in the last 18 meetings in Oklahoma City. Neither spread nor total points outcomes show any trend for San Antonio games, but they tend to shoot worse on the road and try to win with their defense. The Spurs are 9-13 against the O/U overall, and just 2-8 when traveling.
Oklahoma City is also a team who fares much better at home than on the road but haven’t had the same level of success as the Spurs. Their star appeal led to books showing them lower odds to win and higher handicaps, and it resulted in 8-13 ATS record. Of the 8 wins, 6 came in OKC, while they were 2-9 away from it. The over bettors cashed in twice in a row, as the books are keen to lure smart money on the over side. Even with these two coming, the Thunder games finished below the line 13 of 21 times. At home, the Thunder are 4-6 against the over/under.
Admi-Rank: Wins, especially on the road, mean that the Spurs are back near a level we used to expect them to be at. The Thunder have halted the slide win a good win over the Wolves, but it was on par what we’ve expected them to do, so it keeps status quo. At this point, even with their best player missing, the Spurs know what to do and how to do it, while the Thunder play with their instincts, and those instincts fool them more often than not.
Two teams played a weird game 15 days ago in San Antonio, when the Thunder jumped up in front by 20 in the first quarter, but felt that they’ve done enough a little bit too soon. The Spurs responded and won a close contest, leaving Thunder player quite bitter. City lost frequently this season, but I’m sure that they’ve remembered this one. It’s payback time.
Oklahoma City bad ATS record, and underwhelming play led the books to open the market with the home side a 4.5-point favorite. Sure, it’s a flat value on the home side by looking at the numbers, but sometimes you can take flat value when you recognize a good deal, a change of fortunes or form. I’m going to combine taking the home side with the over bet, which has been coming after both teams had value on that side in previous games, and is a good value again.
My Pick: Oklahoma City -4.5 (-110)
Total: Over 199.5 points (-110)
