It will be another potential NBA Finals preview when the Oklahoma City Thunder host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night.
Currently leading their respective conferences by a country mile, the Thunder and Cavaliers faced each other last Wednesday in Cleveland. The home team trailed by nine points in the second quarter but mostly rolled the rest of the way for a 129-122 victory. Although the Cavaliers have lost once since that matchup, they come into this one with a 34-5 record and a six-game cushion in the Eastern Conference. The Thunder own a six-game lead in the West, sporting a 33-6 record that includes a 13-1 mark in their last 14 contests.
With Thursday’s showdown tipping off at 7:30 PM ET and televised on TNT, it’s time to break down the matchup and discuss the best bets to make.
- CAVALIERS -XXX (-110)
- OVER XXX (-110)
PICK #1: Cleveland Cavaliers -xxx (-110)
Oklahoma City might be the best team in the NBA when Chet Holmgren is on the floor. However, he isn’t -- and right now, Cleveland is the best team in the association. The Cavaliers pretty much proved that by beating the Thunder earlier this month. Yes, head coach Kenny Atkinson’s club had the benefit of playing at home, but still, it was without question a statement.
The Cavaliers may be able to make another statement on Thursday. At the very least, they should cover. Although Oklahoma City is 20-2 at home, it shouldn't be overlooked that Cleveland is 14-3 at home. The Cavaliers have not lost away from Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse since December 8. Donovan Mitchell was cold earlier in January but heated up to the tune of 35 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals during Tuesday’s 127-127 defeat of the Indiana Pacers.
What is especially encouraging about the recent head-to-head meeting is that Cleveland cruised past OKC even though Mitchell went 3-of-16 from the floor for 11 points. There is not as much pressure on him as there is on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander when Holmgren is out of the Thunder lineup.
PICK #2: Thunder vs Cavaliers Over xxx (-110)
Something has to give in a matchup between the No. 1 scoring defense in the Western Conference (Oklahoma City at 103.4 PPG) and the No. 1 scoring offense in the Eastern Conference (Cleveland at 122.3 PPG). The over obviously correlates nicely with picking the Cavaliers to cover, as a high-scoring affair will be the result if they are successfully able to implement their preferred style of play.
That was the case last week when Cleveland took care of business in a contest that featured a total of 251 points. A similar result should be in store for the rematch. Both teams are top 10 in the league in pace of play (possessions per game), and Oklahoma City ranks No. 4 in that department over the past three games.
They combined for 251 points against each other even though the Thunder shot a modest 11-for-31 from three-point range, and the Cavaliers missed seven free throws (20-for-27). We expect a similar result tonight.
