NBA Basketball: Brooklyn Nets VS Oklahoma City Thunder Pick and Predictions 03/14/2023

Game: 8:10 PM ET,  Tuesday, March 14th, 2023

Venue: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

TV:  NBA League Pass

Nets: 39-29, 5th place Eastern Conference

Thunder: 33-35, 11th place Western Conference

BetMGM:  Point Spread: Thunder -1.5, O/U 233.5

PointsBet: Point Spread: Thunder -1.5, O/U 233

Fanduel: Point Spread:  Thunder -1.5, O/U 233

Nets: PG Spencer Dinwiddie, SG Mikal Bridges, SF Cameron Johnson, PF Dorian Finney-Smith, C Nic Claxton

Thunder: PG Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, SG Josh Giddey, SF Luguentz Dort, PF Jalen Williams, C Jaylin Williams

An inter conference matchup of teams with wildly different strengths.  The Eastern Conference team is loaded with quality Forwards… while the Western Conference team is loaded with quality Guards.  So much so that the Nets have a Forward playing guard and the Thunder have a guard playing forward.  Both teams are resigned to this not being the year and they will be building a better roster for next season.  However… The Brooklyn Nets are still very much in the playoff race after jettisoning two multi-time all-stars (and two of the best players in the league) for players and picks… and they have benched (for a while now) their remaining Max Contract player in the hopes that someday… maybe he finds an inner strength to improve?... The Oklahoma City Thunder jettisoned their stars a few seasons ago… and now are near to tasting the fruit of the players and picks they received in return.  The Thunder are not going to make the playoffs this season (at first glance)... but they are an ultra competitive team because they have the BEST young backcourt in the league.  What is the great betting opportunity here?  Let’s compare recent trends and ONLY recent trends since every applicable number for the Nets was built while they had superstar players that are now gone.

The Brooklyn Nets have won 5 of their last 10 games… but are 5-1 over their last six.  They went 7-3 ATS during that stretch.  The new players: SG Mikal Bridges, PF Dorian Finney Smith, and SF Cameron Johnson are battle tested and ready to play.  After getting their shaky introductions out of the way they have settled into quality play.  In fact Mikal and Dorian are among the group of “best two-way players in the league”... with Mikal very close to the top of that list.  The Nets didn’t lose everything when they traded the stars… In fact they may have constructed a much better foundation for the future.  They won their last game against the Denver Nuggets 122-120 (they literally just beat the #1 team in the West).  In that win they came 1 point away from having 8 players score in double figures (bench player/shooter Joe Harris had 9 points in 13 minutes)... the way was led by SG Mikal Bridges who had 25 points, and C Nic Claxton who had 20 points… across the board every Nets starter was effective.

The OKC Thunder have won 5 of their last 10 games.  Going 5-4-1 ATS during that stretch.  In 11th place.. The Thunder are on the bubble between the playoffs and the draft lottery which usually means a team like this will not make noise in either.  Fortunately they have last season’s lottery pick waiting to start his career next season (C Chet Holmgren).  They won their last game against the San Antonio Spurs 102-90. In that game they got a dominant performance from PF Jalen Williams with 21 points & 10 rebounds.  They also got 15,11,5 from SG Josh Giddey… and they survived another game of being without PG Shai Gilgeous Alexander who has risen to be one of the ten best players in the NBA this season. 

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Our prediction for Tuesday, March 14th is…. Nets 118 - Thunder 111

Bet on the Nets. The Thunder are favored because they are at home… BUT the Nets are healthy and will simply have more talent per position on the floor and coming off the bench.  The Thunder always have a chance if PG Shai Gilgeous Alexander plays.. But he has sat for two games in a row now.

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The Nets are 2-0 ATS versus OKC in OKC the last 3 seasons.

The Nets are 5-1 ATS versus Northwest Division Opponents this season.

The Thunder are 17-7 ATS after having won 2 of their last 3 games this season.

The Thunder are 12-4 ATS after a win of 10 points or more this season.

Nets: SG Mikal Bridges.  Mikal is one of the most consistent SFs on both ends of the floor in the league.  He isn’t a superstar but at that very next level where he can hang with superstars.  Mikal is playing SG out of necessity for the Nets and he is shining there as well.  The future is bright for the Nets if they retain Mikal but they will have to work out exactly how to get him back to the SF position… That will mean offseason trades to balance the roster.

Thunder:  SG Josh Giddey.  Josh is really a BIG PG… he is multi talented… with the threat of a triple double or near a triple double every night. He is also young and tends to shine playing alongside Shai to get some of the pressure off his shoulders.  He is a perfect piece for the Thunder because he can slide into either guard spot and stuff the stat sheet.

 

Nets: Jacque “where did everyone go?” Vaughn

Thunder: Mark “who?” Daigenault