Since beating the Spurs on the opening night of the season, the Oklahoma City Thunder have had no luck whatsoever beating the top teams in the league. They're 0-2 SU and ATS against the Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers this season, and they'll have a chance to make some headway against the beasts of the East on Sunday afternoon at home.
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SCHEDULING
Both of these teams will be fresh as daisies for this game. The Thunder don't have to travel anywhere quite yet in the second half of the year, as they're opening up on Friday against Indiana before hosting this one. There isn't a look-ahead problem either, as the next game for OKC isn't until next Wednesday against Dallas.
Cleveland could have that look-ahead problem with a home game against Detroit coming on Monday, but it's also worth remembering that the Cavaliers don't play on Friday or Saturday after playing against Chicago to open up their second half on Thursday night.
KEY MATCHUP
These Sunday afternoon games on ABC often pit superstars against each other, and it doesn't get much bigger than having LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook on the court at the same time.
It's a bit trite to say that live bettors should be ready to view the matchup between these three as the deciding factor, especially since Westbrook and James will never go head-to-head with one another, but it's certainly an apt statement here to make.
Durant and Westbrook combined for 52 points in the first matchup of the year, but James was really the reason why live bettors were successful in that victory for Cleveland. LeBron had 33 points, 11 assists and nine boards, and though he did turn the ball over seven times, it was those 11 dimes which helped get through a game in which Kyrie Irving didn't play.
KEY STATS & TRENDS
Oklahoma City has the top rebounding margin in the NBA at +7.6 boards per game, but one of the games where it was tamed this year was against Cleveland. The Cavaliers have great rebounders at every level of the floor, especially with LeBron being the ultimate mismatch for whomever is guarding him. That showed in a 104-100 victory over the Thunder in December, as Cleveland had 16 offensive rebounds and was +6 on the glass in the win.
Live bettors should be ready to view this rebounding battle as one of the make-or-break stats between two legitimate NBA Finals contenders.
Cleveland, which is just 10-13-3 ATS on the road this year, is just 1-1-2 ATS in its four road games since January 15.
Oklahoma City is quietly 25-5 SU this year at home in spite of its iffy 15-15 ATS mark in that span. Since January 6, the Thunder have won nine games in a row as hosts, going 7-2 ATS for bettors. Live bettors have really come up big in these spots when betting early in the game with Oklahoma City jumping out to a lead of at least eight points at some point in all nine of those first halves.
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BookMaker's live betting platform means you always have access to odds and lines to every sporting event. Click here, and start wagering today! The game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Oklahoma City Thunder will tip at 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 21, 2016 at Chesapeake Energy Arena. The contest will be broadcast nationally on ABC.
