In a bubble, the Oklahoma City Thunder should be really proud of themselves. They've already gotten to 40 wins, and they're going to clearly reach the playoffs as the Northwest Division winners with the third best record in the Western Conference. However, they've had a few really sobering losses over the course of the last month, and a second loss in a span of three weeks against the Golden State Warriors would probably only further cement the fact that they're miles away from really grabbing a championship any time in the near future.
You can bet on NBA odds at BookMaker.eu every day of the season.
SCHEDULING
This is a really tough spot for both of these teams. Both clubs have to play a back-to-back on Wednesday and Thursday before having a day off on Friday.
However, motivation has to be on the side of the Thunder. They badly need to prove they can beat a team like the Dubs, especially here on their home court. Golden State will be worn out just a bit after doing the Sunshine State swing in the middle of the week against Miami and Orlando, and if there was ever a spot to score such a big win, this would be it.
KEY MATCHUP
The rest of the Oklahoma City lineup is what it is, right? If you took Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook off this team, you'd have a club which would probably top out around 20 wins and would probably average around 95 points per game.
As it is, Durant and Westbrook are awesome, though. OKC gets almost 52 points per game out of these two and just more than that out of the rest of the team.
Against Cleveland on Sunday, the Thunder didn't get a bad game out of their stars; Durant had 26 points, while Westbrook scored 20 and was a rebound shy of a triple-double. That said, you can't count on guys like Randy Foye, Enes Kanter and Dion Waiters against a team like Golden State. Your studs have to be studs.
Remember that Durant and Westbrook combined to score 67 points in Oakland on Super Bowl Sunday, and the Thunder were still beaten by eight. Anything less than that, and live bettors should be pounding the Dubs.
KEY STATS & TRENDS
Oklahoma City is just 1-5 ATS this season against the five teams in the league who currently have at least 37 wins. Live bettors should keep in mind that the only cover the Thunder have this season against a legit Top 5 team came back in their first game of the season against San Antonio.
Golden State only hit seven threes in that first meeting of the year, and the Splash Brothers each hit just one triple. Live bettors should be ready for the Dubs to do a lot more damage than that in this one, and if they do, this game could end up getting ugly as the 115-92 OKC loss to Cleveland did last Sunday.
Need to fund your account before the big game but don't have access to your computer? No problem! BookMaker Sportsbook now offers a mobile betting cashier so you can deposit money directly from your smartphone. Don't miss out on getting paid because you couldn't bet. Click here, and deposit at BookMaker now! The matchup between the Golden State Warriors and the Oklahoma City Thunder will come off the board at 8:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, February 27, 2016 at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Catch the action live nationally on ABC.
