Oklahoma City Thunder at San Antonio Spurs
Time: 7:30 PM CT (ABC)
Spread: SAS -8.5
Total: 211
Odds c/o Pincle
The Oklahoma City Thunder have won just four of its past 10 games and travel to face the San Antonio Spurs who have yet to lose a home game this season. The Spurs are now 31-0 at home and are 8.5 point favorites in this game which will air at 7:30 PM Central on ABC.
Click HERE to see live NBA odds from major bookmakers!
The Spurs are still rolling. All hype thus far has been doled out to the Golden State Warriors, but San Antonio trails them by just 3.5 games in the standings while having the league’s best point differential (+12.3). The Spurs most recently disposed of the Chicago Bulls, winning 109-101 last night as Kawhi Leonard went off for 29 points and LaMarcus Aldridge had 26 points and 10 rebounds. The Spurs also got 20 points and 12 assists from Tony Parker, and the Spurs’ winning streak at home is now 40 games, dating back to last season.
Can the Thunder change that? Can Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook be responsible for handing the Spurs their first home loss of the 2015-16 season? The Thunder are 18-12 on the road, and the team is coming off a 99-96 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves last night, falling on a Ricky Rubio triple. Durant and Westbrook combined to hit 19 of 39 from the field for 54 points, but as has been typical of the Thunder this season, it did not get many other contributions.
The three other starters, Serge Ibaka, Steven Adams and Andre Roberson combined for just 10 points on 5 of 13 shooting. Enes Kanter brought 17 points off the bench, but OKC shot just 42.9 percent from the field in the game and it has continued to prove to be a struggle in bleeding offense from anyone other than the main few usual suspects.
If the Thunder are to fall any short of a title this year, the blame will not go to Durant and Westbrook, or at least it should not—but rather at the host of mediocre talents that surround them.
Ibaka and Kanter both average 12 points per game, but the Thunder really do not have any players capable of having big nights outside of Durant and Westbrook. The reason that teams have been forming Big Threes is readily apparently, because two superstars is only enough to make a team very good, not enough to make them true contenders. That is all the more apparent when looking at the Thunder’s opponent, the Spurs, who crank at least some production out of far lesser talents due to Gregg Popovic’s masterful system.
The Spurs spread the wealth of its offense quite evenly. Kawhi Leonard and Aldridge are the two bread winners’ but even their combined 38.7 points per game are just about one-third of San Antonio’s 104.7 points per game as a team. Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan are all clearly in the declining years of their respective careers, but all are also fairly effective. Ginobili averages 10 points per game in just 19 minutes a night this year, while Duncan is still good for eight points, seven rebounds and over two blocks/steals per game.
The Spurs have seamlessly passed the torch from Duncan to Aldridge, and are in the midst of one of their most dominant seasons ever. Yet, all the attention continues to go to the Warriors when the Spurs are going to give Steph Curry and company all they can handle and possibly more.
Leonard, in particular, has been dominant over his past nine outings, averaging 35.2 minutes per game while tallying averages of 24.8 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. The Spurs are hardly regretting the easy choice to give him a max-contract and he has blossomed immensely since the Spurs dealt for him on draft day in 2011.
It cost the Spurs nothing more than George Hill to get a franchise player. San Antonio excels at that kind of thing, given that Ginobili was a second round pick and Parker a late first. The Spurs seem to be able to re-tool on the fly and the way that Pop puts all the pieces together only makes it more impressive still.
