The Oklahoma City Thunder try to avoid a five-game losing streak when they take on the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday night. The opening tip for this contest is scheduled for 8 pm ET at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland.
The Thunder have dropped three in a row on the road, including a 121-98 blowout loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night. Oklahoma City is 14-31 and in last place in the Northwest Division standings, trailing the fourth-place Portland Trail Blazers by five games.
Cleveland had its five-game winning streak snapped on Wednesday when it lost on the road to the Chicago Bulls, 117-104. The Cavaliers are 27-19 and in third place in the Central Division, one game behind the second-place Milwaukee Bucks and two games behind the first-place Bulls.
If you want to bet online on this contest, the NBA lines have the Cavaliers as 12-point favorites, with the over/under set at 209 points. A moneyline bet will get you Cleveland at -800, while Oklahoma City is listed at +600.
Cavaliers Hard Times
The Thunder have been struggling offensively over their four-game losing streak, averaging 99.5 points. The first two games of the streak were close ones, including a 107-102 loss to the Cavaliers on Jan. 15, but the last two have been blowout setbacks by 22 and 23 points to the San Antonio Spurs and Hornets, respectively.
The most consistent threat to score for Oklahoma City has been guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who has averaged 27.0 points over the last six games, including three outings of more than 30 points. Gilgeous-Alexander is also averaging 6.3 assists in nine games in January, but he draws a lot of attention from opposing defenses. He was held to 7-of-19 shooting and 21 points in Cleveland’s win over Oklahoma City a week ago.
Rookie guard Josh Giddey has been a nice addition to the Thunder this season, as he’s averaging 11.6 points, 7.5 rebounds and 6.3 assists in his first NBA campaign. Giddey has upped his stats to 14.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 6.7 assists over his last four games, shooting 35.4% from 3-point range.
Forward Lu Dort brings intensity to both ends of the floor, playing hard-nosed defense and hustling any time he’s on the floor. The 22-year-old is averaging 16.2 points, but he’s coming off a three-point performance in the loss to Charlotte on Friday night.
Coming Together
The Cavaliers have become a solid playoff contender despite a young nucleus and the loss of leading scorer Collin Sexton for the season in November. Despite that, Cleveland has been playing well, though it was shown how far it still needs to go with the loss at Chicago on Wednesday.
“It’s an example of what it takes to win in this league,” Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff said after Wednesday’s loss. “(Chicago is) a really good team, and they have really good players. To go on the road against a team that had lost four games in a row, they were gonna come out with that sense of purpose.
“Now, it’s our opportunity to understand it and see if we can figure out our way through it. We’ll keep getting tested, but I trust in our guys that every time we’ve been tested, we’ve responded.”
Responding the most this season has been guard Darius Garland, who leads the Cavaliers with 19.8 points and 8.0 assists per game. The 21-year-old is a possible All-Star selection who has become more aggressive looking for his shot with Sexton sidelined.
Center Jarrett Allen leads a very deep front line, averaging 16.3 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game. Allen and rookie center Evan Mobley (15.0 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.7 blocks) form an intimidating duo in the paint for Cleveland, helping to anchor the team’s defense.
Veteran forward Kevin Love has provided some leadership for Cleveland while still being a productive player off the bench. Love is averaging 14.0 points and 7.1 rebounds in 21 reserve minutes per game, hitting 40.3% from beyond the arc as a stretch 4.
Cavaliers Roll
The Thunder are coming off a loss on Friday and have struggled on the road this season, while Cleveland has been sitting at home wanting to get back to winning since Wednesday’s setback. Look for a solid defensive effort from the Cavaliers as they roll to a home win over the Thunder.
When doing your NBA betting, take Cleveland to win and cover at home.
