In their first meeting this season, the Washington Wizards couldn’t deliver the goods on their home floor as they were crushed, 124-101, by the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder. Now, the final game of their two-game series shifts to Chesapeake Energy Arena and without a doubt the Wizards will be setting their sights on revenge. Can they pull out the huge road win? Or will the Thunder run over them again?
Just read on below for our comprehensive preview of this intriguing encounter. And while you’re doing so, check out our other breakdowns of: Bulls at Jazz and Magic at Spurs.
Washington Wizards vs. Oklahoma City Thunder Betting Preview
Where: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
When: Monday, February 1, 2016, 8:00 PM ET
Line: Washington Wizards (+9.5) at Oklahoma City Thunder (-9.5); total: 221.5– view all NBA lines
TV Broadcast: FSOK, CSMA
Betting on the Washington Wizards (21-24)
John Wall led the Wizards by flirting with a triple-double as he finished with team-highs of 19 points and 13 assists while grabbing eight rebounds. Meanwhile, Ramon Sessions and Jared Dudley scored 17 and 16 points, respectively. But a repeat of this output might be harder to come by against a much more formidable foe in the Thunder.
Defense will arguably dictate the Wizard’s fate for this particular matchup. OKC currently ranks as the second-highest scoring team in the NBA today with 109.4 PPG and ultimately has the league’s best one-two punch in Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Washington is surrendering 104.8 PPG this season.
As for the offense, expect Wall to lead his Wizards from start to finish. He’s played slightly better during road games this season, posting 19.6 PPG and 9.9 APG. In Wall’s last matchup versus the Thunder though, he was limited to nine points on 4-of-13 shooting in 25 minutes of action.
If Wall does struggle later, the pressure falls on his teammates to try and save the day again. The Wizards’ bench is averaging 36.3 PPG this year, which is actually ninth-best in the league.
Washington is 6-4 SU and 7-3 ATS in its last 10 road games.
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Betting on the Oklahoma City Thunder (36-13)
Over at Oklahoma City, meanwhile, everyone’s been wearing a smile on their face as the Thunder continue to roll over their opponents. They enter this game riding on a three-game winning streak and winners of 10 of their previous 11 games. And needless to say, the pair of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook is the reason for this on-going success.
Durant has torched almost every team all season long, averaging 27.2 PPG, 8.0 RPG and 4.5 APG. What’s even more impressive that he’s scored 20 or more points in all but one game this season. Durant should be able to continue his dominance versus an inconsistent Washington defense.
The same could be said for Westbrook, of course. He’s been making every opposing defense look useless by putting up 24.1 PPG, 7.3 RPG and 9.9 APG. The high-flying point guard also has six triple-doubles already under his belt this season, the second-most in the league
Furthermore, one of those triple-doubles happened against the Wizards on November 10, during which Westbrook scored 22 points along with 11 rebounds and 11 assists to lead the Thunder towards a lopsided victory.
On defense though, Serge Ibaka can’t be lax even with teammates like Durant and Westbrook. He still has an important job to do which is to negate any shots towards the cup and ultimately serve as the team’s intimidating presence down low. Ibaka ranks fourth in the NBA with 2.1 BPG.
Oklahoma City is 9-1 SU and 5-4-1 ATS in its past 10 games at home.
Writer’s Prediction
OKC (-9.5) wins by 10 or more points. Create a betting account now and put your NBA predictions to the test!
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