An injury-riddled Dallas Mavericks team hosts the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night.
The pregame narrative: Luka Doncic remains sidelined and Kyrie Irving is questionable. Back OKC to win alongside props on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Klay Thompson and Daniel Gafford in this +340 wager.
Check out my Thunder vs. Mavericks same-game parlay predictions for Jan. 17.
Thunder vs. Mavericks predictions
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Parlay: Thunder moneyline + Gilgeous-Alexander over 24.5 points + Thompson over 2.5 threes + Gafford over 7.5 rebounds (+340)
Thunder moneyline (-305): Last night, the Thunder obliterated the Cleveland Cavaliers, 134-114, in OKC.
It was a dominant showing from the West’s top seed and I can see another rout on deck.
- Dallas has lost three straight games and eight of its last 10.
- The Mavericks are averaging 112.1 PPG without Doncic this season, compared to 118.7 when he plays.
- OKC is a league-best 34-6 and has won 14 of its last 15 games.
There isn’t much more to talk about here. The Thunder are the better and healthier team and didn’t expend much energy in yesterday’s win.
SGP legs
Gilgeous-Alexander over 24.5 points (-770): I would never recommend betting this as a standalone but it gives our SGP a nice boost from +285 to +340.
The MVP frontrunner added to his case with a 40-point outburst last night in just 29 minutes of action.
It was another remarkably efficient scoring display in what’s been a killer month for the Canadian:
- 33.0 PPG
- 54.7% from the field and 97.0% from the line
- 25+ points in all eight games (10 straight dating back to Dec. 29)
SGA is leading the league in scoring and has gone over this mark in 35 of 40 games.
Thompson 3+ threes (-139): The Thunder boast the league’s best 3-point defence, but that didn’t stop Thompson from bagging five 3s when these teams last met.
The future Hall of Famer is in his twilight years but remains efficient from deep, averaging 3.0 makes on 7.9 attempts per night (37.9%).
Nearly 75% of his shots are from 3-point land, so I like this wager from a volume standpoint alone.
Thompson has hit at least two 3s in seven of eight games this month, clearing this total five times.
Gafford over 7.5 rebounds (-190): Two injuries work in this bet’s favour.
Dallas is without sophomore center Dereck Lively II (ankle), who played on a rotation with Gafford. But more importantly, OKC will be without Isaiah Hartenstein.
The Thunder’s Achilles heel last season was rebounding, and Hartenstein was acquired to fix that problem.
Hartenstein missed the first 15 games of the season with an injury. OKC ranked dead last in rebounding rate (46.3%) in that span.
Gafford hauled in 12 rebounds against the Thunder on Nov. 17 with Hartenstein sidelined. This is a smash play.
Picks made at 10:35 a.m. on 01/17/24.
Avery joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2022 before stepping into a full-time role soon after. He loves betting on and analyzing golf — mainly because it’s easier than actually playing — but is a fan of all sports, from the NFL to the UFC.