Filip Tomic
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It’ll be the Oklahoma City Thunder facing off with the Houston Rockets in the first of four meetings this regular season. Tip-off is live from 8 pm ET on NBA TV. I’ve prepared a Same Game Parlay to make things a little more interesting.
Don’t forget to check our NBA Predictions page for picks on the side and total for Saturday’s 4-game slate.
Let’s get into the Thunder vs Rockets matchup now.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to Score 35+ Points (+190)
Josh Giddey Over 6.5 Rebounds (-146)
Jalen Green Over 2.5 Made Threes (-136)
Same Game Parlay odds: +712
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to Score 35+ Points (+190)
Although he’s scored 30+ points in 3 straight games, it feels like it’s been a while since we’ve seen a huge game by SGA. His shooting has been down a bit in those 3 games, but against the inexperienced Rockets, I think he bounces back in a big way. Houston ranks only 20th in opponent points in the paint allowing 49.7 per game, which should be ideal for him as he drives the ball to the basket an average of 25.3 times per game (highest in the NBA). His team ranks first in paint points this season, he’s one of the biggest reasons why.
But, make no mistake about it, SGA is capable of hurting teams in a variety of ways, not just by attacking the basket. He’s shooting 52% from the field, over 35% from three and a impressive 91.9% from the charity stripe. OKC definitely needs a win here after dropping 3 of their last 4. SGA dropped 39 on Houston the last time he played them, I wouldn’t be surprised if he surpassed that number tonight.
Check out our picks on the side and total for Oklahoma City Thunder vs Houston Rockets
Josh Giddey Over 6.5 Rebounds (-146)
He leads the team in rebounding averaging 7.4 per game this season. Over his last 10, he’s upped that to 8.5 per game, while in 8 road games this season he’s at exactly 8 per game. He’s cleared this line in 6 of his last 9 games, against the Bulls last night he finished with 13 rebounds. Houston’s lack of size down low has hurt them quite a lot this season, they give up the 11th most rebounds per game this season at 50.9 per game. With the Thunder playing the 6th fastest and Rockets the 10th fastest pace in the NBA this season, I think we can expect both teams to put up 90+ shots from the field, if that happens, then Giddey is in for a productive night on the boards.
Jalen Green Over 2.5 Made Threes (-136)
Jalen Green is Houston’s only hope of getting a result out of tonight’s game. He’s coming off a huge 30-point performance against Atlanta last night, in a game in which he scored 3 of 9 shots from distance. He can be an erratic shooter at times, but one thing is for sure he will get plenty of attempts at it tonight. So far in November, he is averaging 7.9 attempts from downtown, while making 2.7 per game. As a team Houston ranks 8th in the NBA averaging 35.4 threes per game, that’s been a staple of this team for well over a decade now. Oklahoma City’s three-point defending is nothing to brag about, they rank only 16th in the NBA in opponent three-point percentage allowing 35.9% of shots made. The last time he faced the Thunder, Green went 3-for-9 from three and finished with 21 points. In a game in which he faces a talent like SGA, I’m sure Green will be extra motivated to do well. Fingers crossed he can keep the Rockets afloat in tonight’s contest.
We went 5-1 on our player props last night, Saturday’s NBA Player Prop Bet is ready!
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