OKC Thunder vs Atlanta Hawks Predictions, Player Props & Odds (Jan. 3)
Odds as of Jan. 3 on the bet365 app. New customers can claim a bet365 bonus code to wager on any of Wednesday’s 12 NBA games, including Thunder vs Hawks.
Despite their phenomenal start, the Thunder, who sit second in the West, are not among the top-five favorites in the NBA Western Conference odds. At +1400, OKC still trails the Nuggets, Suns, Clippers, Timberwolves, Lakers, Mavericks, and Warriors.
The Hawks have faded to ninth in the odds to win the top-heavy East at a distant +6900.
Wednesday’s NBA lineups show both teams are relatively healthy. The only significant injury on either side is Atlanta’s Deandre Hunter (14.9 PPG, 4.1 RPG) who remains out with a knee injury.
OKC Extends Win Streak by Ending Boston’s
Oklahoma City earned another signature win last night by hanging on for a 127-123 home victory over the NBA-best Celtics, ending Boston’s six-game win streak in the process, which was the longest in the league at the time. By extending their own win streak to five games, the Thunder now own the NBA’s longest win streak, which includes Ws over the West-leading Timberwolves (129-106 home), the reigning-champion Nuggets (119-93 away), along with the Knicks (129-10 home) and Nets (124-108 home), who are both in Play-In Tournament positions in the East.
As he’s done in all but four games this season, MVP contender Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the team in scoring in each game during the streak, including a 36-point performance last night on 14-of-22 shooting with seven assists and six rebounds.
Josh Giddey (12.2 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 4.4 APG) added 23 points, eight rebounds, and six assists on 8-of-14 shooting from the field, and OKC as a team shot 45% from beyond the arc in the win. Chet Holmgren (17.6 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 2.7 BPG) had an efficient 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting and was a monster in the post with four blocks. Holmgren is not only the favorite in the latest NBA Rookie of the Year odds, he’s also surged into the top three of the NBA Defensive Player of the Year odds.
But coach Mark Daigneault will have plenty to critique of OKC’s fourth quarter last night. The Thunder led by 18 with just 7:22 to play in a game that should have seen the benches emptied. OKC turnovers and lights-out shooting on the Boston side saw the Celtics get within two in the final minute before the Thunder closed it out from the free-throw line.
By covering the spread as four-point home underdogs, the Thunder improved their NBA-best ATS record to 23-8-1.
Hawks End Skid With Narrow Win Over Wizards
While the Thunder have a legitimate claim to most-surprising team of the season, the Hawks appear determined to assume the mantle of most disappointing. Atlanta came into the season with an NBA win total of 42.5, which has plummeted to 37.5 during their 13-19 start, the biggest drop of any team to date.
They managed to end a four-game losing streak last time out with a 130-126 road win over the lowly Wizards, but they didn’t manage to cover the spread as 6.5-point favorites. That marked Atlanta’s fifth straight ATS loss and dropped the team to a league-worst 7-25 against the number. The Hawks have only covered two of their last 17 games.
Trae Young (28.3 PPG, 11.3 APG) continues to score in bunches and distribute effectively. He has a higher PER (22.5) than last year, while Dejounte Murray (20.5 PPG, 5.2 APG) and Bogdan Bogdanovic (17.5 PPG) provide consistent secondary scoring for an Atlanta team that has the sixth-best Offensive Rating in the league (119.1). Of course, the defensive end of the floor has been an absolute disaster. At 119.7, Atlanta has the fourth-worst Defensive Rating in the league, and significantly worse than last season (115.4, 22nd).
OKC vs ATL Player Props
Player props from the DraftKings app.
Thunder vs Hawks Prediction
This is a tough back-to-back for the Thunder. Their stars all played heavy minutes last night (only SGA and Jalen Williams average over 30 minutes per game, but four of five starters played at least 31 minutes against Boston) and they’re going from home to road. But the Thunder have been impeccable in back-to-backs so far this season, going 3-0 straight-up and ATS with wins over the Knicks (129-120 home), Trail Blazers (134-91 away), and Pistons (124-112 home).
This team is still being undervalued by oddsmakers. They should be a top-five squad in the Western Conference futures and they shouldn’t have been home-court underdogs last night. Sitting top five in both Offensive Rating (119.2, fifth) and Defensive Rating (110.7, third), and an excellent 9-4 on the road this year, I will readily back the Thunder as one-point road chalk.
Thunder vs Hawks pick: OKC Thunder moneyline (-110 on the FanDuel app) – two units
Sascha Paruk’s 2023-24 NBA betting record:
- 10-8-2 ATS (+1.41 units)
- 9-9 ML (-0.07 units)
- 5-11 player props (-6.6 units)
All wagers one unit unless expressly stated otherwise.
