Golden State Warriors vs. Oklahoma City Thunder Betting Odds, NBA Pick
Kevin Durant and the Golden State Warriors (45-8) will visit his former team the Oklahoma City Thunder (31-23) on Saturday for the first time since he left the team as a free agent, and they will do so as solid road favorites. The Warriors routed the Thunder 121-100 in their last meeting on January 18 as 15-point home favorites, winning for the fifth straight time in the series.
Point spread: The Warriors opened as seven-point favorites; the total is at 226, according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark. Line updates and matchup report.
NBA pick, via OddsShark computer: 115.7-109.5 Warriors (NBA picks on every game)
Why the Warriors can cover the spread
Not only does Golden State own a five-game series winning streak, but the team has also covered the spread each time. Durant obviously played for Oklahoma City in three of those games, and his subtraction from the Thunder and addition to the Warriors cannot be understated.
Golden State may not have the same record as this time last year, but the defending Western Conference champions are vastly improved and have shown that the last two games as they have blown out the Chicago Bulls and Memphis Grizzlies by a combined 46 points.
Why the Thunder can cover the spread
There is no doubt that Oklahoma City will be super motivated for this matchup, especially the new face of the franchise Russell Westbrook, who had 27 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists in the last meeting versus his former teammate Durant.
Westbrook has shown an extremely high level of motivation overall this season to produce one of the remarkable individual campaigns in NBA history in averaging a triple-double. He will also have the home crowd behind him and against Durant here, as the Thunder look to roll to their fourth victory in five games and fifth consecutive cover following a 118-109 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers as 1.5-point favorites Thursday.
Smart pick
The Cavs surprised Oklahoma City by playing LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love when it was widely reported that their Big Three would sit after playing two of the previous three nights. That did not matter for the Thunder, who took control in the second half and used that game as the perfect tune-up for this rematch.
Westbrook will treat this like a championship game while Durant and the Warriors will be playing on back-to-back nights, and they have failed to cover five of six under that scenario. Look for Oklahoma City to keep this one close with a shot at pulling off the home upset.
Betting trends
Golden State is 10-3-1 ATS in its last 14 games.
The total has gone under in nine of Golden State's last 13 games.
Oklahoma City is 8-1 ATS in its last nine games at home.
All NBA lines and betting trends courtesy of Bleacher Report’s official odds partner, OddsShark. All quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Check out Twitter for injury and line-movement updates and the OddsShark YouTube page for picks and analysis, or download the free odds tracker app.
