The Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs better get used to each other, because they are going to be seeing a good deal of each other this week. The teams will face off on Thursday in San Antonio and then match up two days later in Oklahoma City.
The Thunder would love to steal the road win and then take care of business at home. Oklahoma City is ahead in the standings and can ill afford to drop a home game this weekend as it is aiming to stay close to the rest of the teams near the top of the Western Conference standings.
The Spurs have struggled on the road this year but are hoping to steal this Saturday matchup although they will clearly be the underdogs in NBA wagering.
This NBA basketball game between the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder will be held at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 12th, 2019. The game will be nationally televised on NBA TV.
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Odds Analysis
The Spurs have a record of 24-18 this season after a recent hot streak, which has moved them up the standings and to within shouting distance of the best teams in the West. San Antonio has been excellent at home on the year but is only 7-13 away from it, which is a concern entering this one.
The Thunder is 25-15 on the year, which is just 2.5 games behind the West-leading Nuggets and 1.5 games back of the Warriors. Oklahoma City is 13-6 at home this year and expects to pick up this win and keep it rolling in NBA odds.
Injury Report
Keep an eye on the status of Spurs forward Rudy Gay. He has a wrist injury that is expected to keep him out for a couple games, so it’s unlikely he plays, but it’s important to know for sure. He is averaging 13.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game while shooting efficiently from the field. San Antonio is winning this year because of its balance and depth, and the presumed absence of Gay would hurt.
Oklahoma City forward Nerlens Noel hit his head in a fall on Tuesday against Minnesota and suffered a concussion. Head injuries are no joke so it is certainly not a given that he will be ready for this matchup. Noel is averaging 5.1 points and 4.6 rebounds per game and is a nice piece for the Thunder off the bench. They will likely need to replace his defense and energy.
Key Stat
11. That’s the number of Spurs players who are averaging 15 minutes or more per game this season. Some of that is due to injuries but it is a testament to how deep coach Gregg Popovich goes on his bench on a consistent basis.
DeMar DeRozan is the team’s leading scorer and LaMarcus Aldridge is the other star. After that, the Spurs have a bunch of role players that have really done a nice job carving out roles.
Free NBA ATS Picks
The Thunder is the better team and gets the home court advantage in this one. Oklahoma City may be hard-pressed to win the previous matchup between these teams in San Antonio, but should not have any issue coming away with the victory at home. The spread doesn’t figure to be too large because the Spurs are a good foe, but San Antonio is still the pick to cover as it could make this one go down to the wire.
Keep an eye on where the scoring total comes in for this one as well in NBA betting lines.
NBA ATS Pick: Oklahoma City Thunder 113, San Antonio Spurs 111
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