An intriguing five-game Christmas Day series in the NBA will be capped in part by yet another showdown between the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder. San Antonio has upset the best team in the NBA twice in the last two weeks, but Oklahoma City has home field advantage this time.
Let’s take a look at my Spurs vs. Thunder predictions.
San Antonio Spurs vs. Oklahoma City Thunder Odds
Moneyline: Spurs +290 / Thunder -370
Spread: Spurs +9.5 (-114) / Thunder -9.5 (-106)
Total: more than 235.5 (-114) / less than 235.5 (-106)
San Antonio Spurs vs. Oklahoma City Thunder Best Bet No. 1: Spurs +9.5 (-114)
It looks like a real rivalry is brewing in the Western Conference. The sample size is still small, but San Antonio is doing everything it can to compete with defending champion Oklahoma City. The Spurs (22-7) suddenly find themselves just 3.5 games behind the Thunder (26-4) in the standings. Even more impressive is that San Antonio has owned the regular season series thus far. It posted a 111-109 loss in the NBA Cup semifinals, then defeated OKC 130-110 on Tuesday.
We’re not even asking Spurs to win again at Christmas; we’re just asking them to be somewhat competitive. A spread of 9.5 points is one that the visitors must achieve. They are riding a seven-game regular season winning streak (not including the loss to New York in the NBA Cup finals). San Antonio is 5-2 against the spread in those seven, plus it is 5-1 SU in the last six road games and 4-1 ATS in the last five head-to-head games against the Thunder. Spurs dominated by 20 points earlier in the week, despite Victor Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox combining for just 18 points. Making the best basketball team without your two best players performing well is a sign of something special.
Oklahoma City lost by 20 points, despite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shooting 14 of 22 from the floor for 33 points. Dating back to its Cup semifinal loss to San Antonio, OKC has alternated losses and wins, leading head coach Mark Daigneault’s club to a 2-3 record in its past five games. It’s also worth noting that Ajay Mitchell (concussion), Chet Holmgen (face) and Jaylin Williams (heel) are questionable for Thursday.
San Antonio Spurs vs. Oklahoma City Thunder best player prop bet: Victor Wembanyama Over 17.5 points (-115)
There’s no denying Wembanyama has impressed since returning from a calf injury that kept him out for 12 games. But the 7’4″ center hasn’t played more than 25 minutes in any of the six games upon his return. For the biggest game of the season so far (yes, every head-to-head between these two teams gets bigger and bigger as San Antonio continues to apply pressure), expect Wembanyama to play more minutes on Thursday. Even in just 21 minutes against OKC in the cup final, he managed to score 22 points.
The Frenchman also scored 26 points against Atlanta last Friday in just 21 minutes of work, so it’s not like he’s in a huge slump. Reducing his points quota all the way down to 17.5 is of great value to a player who should actually reach the 20 mark, even if his performance is not above average.
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