Golden State Warriors vs. Oklahoma City Thunder Prediction, Preview, and Odds
A pair of teams from the Western Conference take to the hardwood in search of a win in the Sooner State in the opening slate of the NBA In-Season Tournament. The Golden State Warriors are on the road as they make the trip to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night. Golden State edged Sacramento 102-101 at home Wednesday night, failing to cover the line as a seven-point favorite, in their previous contest. Oklahoma City fell 110-106 at home to New Orleans Wednesday night, losing outright as a 3.5-point favorite, in their previous game. In the all-time regular season series between the teams, the Thunder own a 142-121 advantage but the Warriors have won nine of the last 10 meetings, including a 136-125 home victory in the most recent matchup on April 4, 2023.
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Golden State Warriors Look for Fifth Straight Win
Golden State survived a wild game with Sacramento to earn their fourth straight win after losing their season opener to the Suns. The Warriors enter this game 4-1 and stand atop the Pacific Division standings, one game ahead of the Lakers and Clippers for the top spot. Against Sacramento, Golden State led 12-3 early only to trail by three after the opening quarter. The Warriors led by one at the half, were down as many as 11 in the third quarter and by five after three quarters. In a back-and-forth final quarter, Golden State traded the lead multiple times in the final minutes before Klay Thompson hit the winning bucket on a pullup jumper with 1.1 seconds to play. The Warriors shot 48.1% from the floor, including 11 of 31 from three-point range, lost the rebounding battle 48-36 and turned the ball over 17 times yet prevailed. Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 21 points as one of six Golden State players in double figures in the win.
On the year, the Warriors are 14 in the league in scoring offense as they put up an average of 112.8 points per game. Golden State stands 10 in rebounding as they collect an average of 47.4 boards per contest while they are 7 in assists by handing out an average of 27.6 dimes per contest. The Warriors are 5 in the league in scoring defense by allowing 104 points per contest. Stephen Curry leads the team with 31 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game this season. Andrew Wiggins adds 11.4 points per game while Draymond Green puts up 7.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and seven assists per night. Klay Thompson (16.5 points), Kevon Looney, Chris Paul, Moses Moody, Dario Saric, Gary Payton II and Jonathan Kuminga (11.3 points) are solid secondary scoring options. Golden State is 14 in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 46.7% from the floor as a team on the year. The Warriors are eighth in the league in threes per game by knocking down 13.6 triples a night while they are 13 in three-point shooting by hitting 35.4% from beyond the arc as a team.
The Warriors have no current injuries to report so they should have their full rotation available for this contest.
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Oklahoma City Thunder Trying to Bounce Back
Oklahoma City let a big first-quarter lead fade away as they were dropped by the Pelicans at home Wednesday night for their second loss in three games. The Pelicans dropped to 3-2 on the season and stand second in the Northwest Division, one game behind the Nuggets for the top spot in the division. Against New Orleans, Oklahoma City led by as many as 20 in the opening quarter, by 19 after the first stanza and by as many as 22 in the second quarter before things got away from them. The Thunder saw their lead trimmed to eight at the half and trailed by one after three quarters. Oklahoma City was down as many as 12 in the fourth quarter and got within one at 105-104 with 1:38 remaining but couldn’t retake the lead. The Thunder shot 43.2% from the floor, including just seven of 34 from three-point range, and lost the rebounding battle 58-49 in the game. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 20 points, five rebounds and eight assists in the loss.
This season, the Thunder are 15 in the league in scoring offense as they average 111.4 points per game on the year. Oklahoma City is 26 in rebounding with 42.4 boards per contest while they are 21 in assists with 23.6 dimes a night. The Thunder are 16 in the league in scoring defense as they allow an average of 111.8 points a night. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads the team with 24.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 6.6 assists per contest. Luguentz Dort is the most reliable secondary scoring option with 11.8 points per game. The Thunder look to Josh Giddey (12.6 points, six rebounds, 4.4 assists), Chet Holmgren (15.8 points, 7.2 rebounds), Cason Wallace (7.4 points) and Tre Mann as other secondary scoring options. Aleksej Pokusevski, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Jalen Williams (16 points), Ousmane Dieng, Kenrich Williams, Darius Bazley and Aaron Wiggins have to be contributors if they hope to have success. Oklahoma City is 9 in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 47.4% from the floor as a team on the year. The Thunder are 20 by hitting 11.6 threes per game and 11 in three-point shooting by hitting 36.3% of their attempts from beyond the arc.
Jaylin Willams (hamstring) has yet to suit up with a strain: he is questionable for this contest. Kenrich Williams (back) remained out Wednesday and has missed the first five games of the season. Watch for any updates on their statuses heading toward tip-off.
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Best Bets for this Game
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Both teams have been middle of the road offensively in the first week-plus of the season. Golden State is trying to figure out the fit for guys like Paul and Saric while dealing with the fact that the Splash Brothers are another year older. Oklahoma City is a team loaded with young talent but they lack that grizzled veteran to provide leadership in crunch time. The Thunder let a big lead slip away against New Orleans Wednesday night and have to try and regroup against one of the most veteran teams in the league. Golden State has played tough basketball with four straight wins and their experience edge should be enough to help them claw out a win to run their win streak to five here.
Prediction: Golden State Warriors -2
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Golden State enters this game having stayed under the total in four of their first five games of the season. Two of their three road games stayed under the total with the exception being a 130-102 pasting of the Pelicans October 30 in the second game of a back-to-back situation. That was their high-water mark offensively in the first five games as they have been held to 106 points or less in three of their five games. Oklahoma City has seen the under go 3-2 in their games this season. Two of their three home games have fallen short of the total with the exception their 124-112 home win over Detroit in the second game of a back-to-back Monday night. The last four meetings between the teams have gone over the number but each team is logging their fourth game in six nights and fifth game in eight nights here. Look for this game to wind up under the total as the Warriors continue their strong start defensively.
Prediction: Under
Chris King has been immersed in the world of professional and collegiate sports for more than three decades. Whether it's playing pickup games or being involved in organized sports to being a fan, he's checked all the boxes. From the NFL to arena football, the NHL to the KHL, the NBA to the WNBA to college hoops, and even MLB to the KBO. If it's out there, he's covered it and bet on it as well, as Chris has been an expert bettor in his career. Before joining Winners and Whiners back in 2015, his work appeared around the internet and in print. He's written books for Ruckus Books about college basketball, the NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, golf, and the World Cup. If you're looking for the inside track on hitting a winner, do yourself a favor and read what Chris has to say.
