The Washington Wizards are one of the hottest teams in the NBA and have moved up into the third seed in the Eastern Conference. They would love to become a legitimate contender to the Cavaliers’ throne but must keep excelling down the stretch.
Their next chance will be in a home game against the Oklahoma City Thunder and their star guard Russell Westbrook. While Oklahoma City has the best player on the court, the WIzards’ depth is more impressive as they will aim to wear down the Thunder.
Washington has the better record and is playing at home so it should certainly be the favorite in this matchup.
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The Thunder is 30-23 straight up and 29-24 against the spread. Oklahoma City has played in 28 road games on the season and has covered in 13 of those, faring worse than at home. The Thunder has gone 8-13 against the spread as an underdog on the year.
The WIzards are 31-21 straight up and 30-22 against the spread. Washington has played in 29 home games and has performed well, covering in 19 of them. The Wizards have gone 19-11 against the spread as the favorites.
Revenge Angle
The first time these two teams met back on November 30th, the game went to overtime with Oklahoma City taking control in extra time and eventually winning 126-115. The Thunder outscored the Wizards 21-10 in overtime to capture the win.
Bradley Beal led the Wizards effort, finishing with 31 points. Washington has gone 2-3 in overtime games this season splitting recent overtime matchups against Cleveland and Brooklyn.
The most recent loss to Oklahoma City marked the fifth time in a row the Wizards have fallen to the Thunder in the last three seasons. The last time Washington beat Oklahoma City was in 2014.
However, the Thunder are much different from many of those past games since Kevin Durant is no longer in the fold. While Oklahoma City won the first one this year, the locale change makes it likely that the Wizards can even the season series.
Key Stat
Westbrook --- The Thunder point guard had a triple-double the last time these two teams met, finishing with 35 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists. He is averaging 30.9 points, 10.5 rebounds and 10.2 assists on the season.
Westbrook had 14 points in the game-clinching overtime period. The 28-year-old has recorded 24 triple-doubles this season and is on pace to become the first player to average a triple-double since Oscar Robertson.
He remains the team’s top asset this year and after the departure of Durant and has been putting up monster numbers all season. In a recent win over Memphis on February 3rd, Westbrook finished with 38 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists and also had 27 points and 18 rebounds against the Pacers on February 6th.
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The Wizards are 8-2 in their past 10 games, and that recent hot play must be considered when deciding which team will emerge victorious in this one. John Wall and Beal are playing well together and the Wizards have emerged as one of the best teams in the East.
The Thunder’s record is similar but it is so reliant on Westbrook. If he has a tough time on the road his team will be sunk. Wall hopes to keep him in better check this time as Westbrook was dominant last time these teams faced off.
He may not put up such big numbers, and if he doesn’t shoot well from the floor his team will have trouble keeping up. The Wizards should be able to pull out a relatively easy home victory over the Thunder to continue their hot streak.
NBA Odds: Wizards 111, Thunder 104
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