An exciting five-game Christmas Day rivalry game in the NBA is anchored in part by yet another rivalry between the San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder. San Antonio has upset the best team in the NBA twice in the last two weeks, but Oklahoma City has home court advantage this time.
Let’s get into my predictions for Spurs vs. Thunder.
San Antonio Spurs vs. Oklahoma City Thunder odds
Money line: Spurs +290 / Thunder -370
Spread: Spurs +9.5 (-114) / Thunder -9.5 (-106)
Total: Over 235.5 (-114) / Under 235.5 (-106)
San Antonio Spurs vs. Oklahoma City Thunder best bet #1: Spurs +9.5 (-114)
It appears that the true rivalry is emerging in the Western Conference. The sample size is still small, but San Antonio is making a real charge to compete with defending NBA champion Oklahoma City. The Spurs (22-7) are suddenly just 3.5 games behind the Thunder (26-4) in the standings. Even more impressive is that San Antonio owns the regular season series so far. It pulled off a 111-109 upset in the NBA Cup semifinals and beat OKC 130-110 on Tuesday.
We’re not even asking for Spurs to win again at Christmas – we’re just asking for them to compete somehow. The 9.5 point spread is something the visitors should cover. They are on a seven game regular season winning streak (not including a loss to New York in the NBA Cup Finals). San Antonio is 5-2 against the spread in those seven, and is 5-1 SU in its last six road games and 4-1 ATS in its last five games against the Thunder. The Spurs led with 20 points at the beginning of this week, although Victor Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox combined for only 18 points. Taking care of the best team in basketball without your two best players is a sign of something special.
As for Oklahoma City, they lost by 20 points despite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shooting 14-of-22 from the floor for 33 points. Bouncing back from their Cup semifinal loss against San Antonio, OKC turned a loss into a win — giving coach Mark Daigneault’s club a 2-3 record in its last five outings. It’s also worth noting that Ajay Mitchell (contusion), Chet Holmgen (face), and Jaylin Williams (heel) are questionable for Thursday.
San Antonio Spurs vs. Oklahoma City Thunder betting best player: Victor Wembanyama Over 17.5 points (-115)
It cannot be denied that Wembanyama has suffered since his return from injury which kept him out for 12 games. But the 7’4″ center didn’t log more than 25 minutes in any of the six appearances he made when he returned. In the biggest game of the season so far (yes, every battle between these two teams is getting bigger as San Antonio continues to apply pressure), you have to think Wembanyama logged more minutes Thursday. Even in just 21 minutes against OKC, he managed 2 points.
The Frenchman also scored 26 points against Atlanta in just 21 minutes of work this past Friday, so it’s not like some major slump. Getting his scoring average down to 17.5 represents a huge number for a player who should really reach the 20 mark even if his performance is above average.
