Will The Thunder or Spurs Pick Up First NBA In-Season Tournament Win?
The Spurs vs Thunder Betting Trends Suggest Oklahoma City Has The Edge
The Oklahoma City Thunder will welcome the San Antonio Spurs to Paycorn Center for an NBA In-Season Tournament matchup in the Group Stage.
While this game also counts for the NBA regular season standings, there’s extra incentive to win this game.
The Thunder and Spurs are both in the West Group C side of the bracket in the In-Season Tournament. The Thunder have lost two straight games in the tournament, while the Spurs are 0-1. Meanwhile, the other three teams in the bracket won their first games.
Therefore, it’s unlikely either team will make it out of the group stage. But at least one of these teams will win in this one.
The Thunder are sitting at -8.5, while the total is 238 for this matchup that will be featured on TNT.
With the Spurs sitting at just 3-7, can the Thunder outduel the Spurs at home?
Look at the Spurs vs Thunder betting trends for this In-Season Tournament matchup.
San Antonio Spurs vs Oklahoma City Thunder 
Day/Time:
Location: Paycorn Center
Streaming: TNT
Spurs vs Thunder Betting Trends
We’re through ten games this season.
The Spurs are just 4-6 against the spread and have watched the Over hit in nine of ten games this NBA season. While the Spurs are solid offensively, the defense has broken down more times than not. They’ve had a game where they allowed over 150 points in regulation.
On the other hand, the Thunder are 7-3 against the spread, while the Over and Under have each hit five times.
Oklahoma City is just 3-3 at home, while the Spurs are sitting at 2-3 on the road. The Thunder have been better on the road, while the Spurs have handled business better on the road as well.
With the Spurs on the road, can we expect a close matchup between two incredibly young teams?
We’ve Watched 10 Regular Season Games of Wembanyama
The San Antonio Spurs landed the first overall pick in the most recent NBA Draft. At that moment, the Spurs and Victor Wembanyama knew they’d be a match.
Wembanyama ultimately went first overall to San Antonio. He’s 7-foot-4-inches and has pure talent that people his height rarely have. He’s got a lot of Kristaps Porzingis in him, but he’s also got better handles and better defense and can make more challenging shots.
He’s already shown in ten games into the season. Wembanayama has averaged 19.7 points with 8.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists. Plus, he’s attempted 43 shots in his last two games. The confidence is there, and the Spurs are starting to let him cook.
It’s just that the defense needs to improve more. Still, Wembanyama’s only going to get better from here.
What About Chet Holmgren?
Although Chet Holmgren was selected second overall in last year’s NBA Draft, Holmgren’s playing his rookie season with the Thunder this year, he didn’t play any games last year due to an injury. So now he’s competing against Wembanyama for the Rookie of the Year.
Holmgren has earned 16.4 points per game, adding 7.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and a nearly 55% shooting percentage. Holmgren might look more polished, but his stats aren’t as good as Wembanyama’s because he’s playing with better teammates.
For example, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has scored over 29 points per game and is earning most of the shots for the Thunder. Holmgren has averaged just over ten shots per game, while Wembanyama has added over 20 shot attempts in his last two games.
Holmgren will unlikely beat out Wembanyama for the Rookie of the Year. However, he will be integral to Oklahoma City’s success this season.
Inconsistencies On Defense
The San Antonio defense has looked horrible at the beginning of the year. The Spurs have allowed 120.6 points per 100 possessions while allowing a 58% effective field goal percentage. While San Antonio has done an excellent job at limiting foul shots, the Spurs are not forcing turnovers or having much success on the defensive glass.
The Spurs have only allowed 27.9% of offensive rebounds. But while the Thunder have only grabbed 22.5% of offensive rebounds, Oklahoma City has also shot a 56.3% effective field goal percentage. The Thunder have also scored 115.1 points per 100 possessions and have gotten to the foul line at an above-average rate.
The Thunder won’t dominate the offensive glass, but they’ll get good looks that they should make at a consistent rate.
Meanwhile, the Thunder have held NBA teams to a 51.2% effective field goal percentage. Oklahoma City has also added 15.3% of turnovers. That’s the good part. However, the bad part is that the Thunder allowed 33.7% of offensive rebounds and gave up a 21.8 free throw rate.
Luckily for the Thunder, the Spurs have earned just 24.3% of offensive rebounds and an offensive free throw rate of 15.3, which is 28th in the NBA.
Therefore, we’ll trust the Thunder defense when looking at the Spurs vs Thunder betting trends. While there are many NBA picks today and plenty of NBA games today, the NBA betting odds for the Thunder at -8.5 (-110) stand out the most.
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