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The Oklahoma City Thunder will try to get their first win of the season a they host the Boston Celtics on Thursday, 10/25/18, at their very own Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City.
The Thunder and Celtics were among the early favorites before the season began. Boston was touted to win the Eastern Conference while the Thunder were among the teams expected to challenge the reign of the Golden State Warriors in the East. But after the first week of the 2018-19 NBA season, both are still struggling to find their form.
OKC opened the season with Russell Westbrook in the injured list. But even the return of the 2017 NBA MVP could not prevent a third straight defeat for the Thunder. Meanwhile, the Celtics are better but not as expected. The men in green have alternated wins and losses in their first four regular season games.
Shooting Woes
The Celtics were the preseason favorites to top the Eastern Conference along with the Toronto Raptors. The Celtics immediately proved their mettle when they blasted the Philadelphia 76ers in their opening game. But the Celtics faltered and dropped their second assignment to the Raptors. They followed that up with an underwhelming win over the Knicks and then were upset by the Orlando Magic in Boston last October 22.
But it isn’t just Kyrie who’s struggling. Terry Rozier, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart have shot below 40% this season. Even Jayson Tatum, Al Horford and Gordon Hayward are shooting below 44% from the floor to start the season. As a team, Boston is only shooting 41.2% from the field, 28th among 30 NBA teams. With their shooting off, Boston hasn’t been able to score enough points to be consistent on a nightly basis.
Boston Celtics vs Oklahoma City Thunder 10/25/18
Moneyline Odds: Celtics -117, Thunder -103
Odds from GTBets as of 10/24/18
Like the Celtics, the Thunder have also struggled to shoot the ball. In fact, they are worse as OKC is the only team in the league to shoot below 40% from the field this season. As a team, the Thunder are last in field goal percentage at 39.0%. Not only that, the Thunder are also second to the last in the entire league in free throw percentage at 66.7%.
After missing the team’s first two games, Westbrook returned to action against the Kings. The 2017 NBA MVP scored 32 points in 35 minutes and flirted with a triple double after also grabbing 12 rebounds and issuing 8 assists in his season debut. Westbrook will need to work double time though especially since Paul George is shooting just 38.2% from the floor this season.
Who Wins?
The Celtics and Thunder have played a total of 133 regular season games against each other. The Celtics lead the all-time series 71-62. The Thunder have won 7 out of the last 10 games between these teams but last season, Boston won both of their two meetings. The Thunder have won four out of the last six meetings in Oklahoma City.but the Celtics have won two out of the last three on the road.
Sure, you could turn the tables and say otherwise but even if George and Westbrook get hot, they may not have enough firepower to match Boston. The trends tell us that Boston bounces back better from defeat than Oklahoma City. I think that holds on Thursday and the Celtics will emerge victorious in OKC.
We’re picking the Boston Celtics to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder on 10/25/18.
OKC is 2-6-1 ATS in their last 9 games at home. The Thunder are also 1-4 ATS in their last 5 Thursday games. Boston is 3-0-1 ATS in their last 4 games at the Chesapeake Energy Arena. They are also 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games against Western Conference teams, 12-3-1 ATS in their last 16 games against Northwest Division teams and 13-5 ATS in their last 23 games following a loss. On the other hand, the Thunder are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games after a loss and 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games after a double digit loss.
Boston Celtics vs Oklahoma City Thunder 10/25/18
Spread Odds: Celtics -1 (-107), Thunder +1 (-113)
Odds from Betonline.ag as of 10/24/18
The last four games between these teams have been decided by single digits. And yes, the most recent game between these teams was decided by a solitary point. But I’m picking Boston to win outright here so if they are to win, they must win by at least one point. That means if Boston wins, the worst that I can get in this bet is a draw.
Prediction: Boston -1
The total has gone under in 4 out of the last 6 games by the Thunder. Likewise, the under is 4-1 in the last five games played by the Celtics. Head to head, the total has gone under in four out of their last six games. The under is also 17-4 in the Thunder’s last 21 games after allowing more than 125 points in their previous game. The under is also 4-0 in the Celtics last four games after a loss.
Boston Celtics vs Oklahoma City Thunder 10/25/18
Over/Under Odds: Over 212.5 -110/Under 212.5 -110
Odds from Betonline.ag as of 10/24/18
Boston and Oklahoma City have combined to score less than 200 points in four out of their last six meetings. The trends point to under and while these teams have enough firepower to top 213 points, I think both will put an emphasis on defense here as they try to make a statement to the rest of the league.
Prediction: Under 213
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