The Oklahoma City Thunder are massive home favourites on Wednesday night against the woeful Utah Jazz.
The pregame narrative: In a game with significant blowout potential, I’m looking for B- and C-list players to make some noise. My +340 SGP features player props for Walker Kessler, Jaylin Williams and Luguentz Dort.
Check out my Jazz vs. Thunder same-game parlay predictions for Jan. 22.
Jazz vs. Thunder predictions
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Parlay: Kessler over 19.5 points/rebounds + Williams over 6.5 rebounds + Dort 2+ threes (+340)
Kessler over 19.5 points/rebounds (-120): I’m fascinated by the size mismatch that Kessler will have tonight, and I expect the seven-footer to take advantage.
With both Isaiah Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren hurt, the Thunder don’t have a rotation player taller than 6-foot-8. That might be a problem.
Especially when you consider that Kessler is playing stellar basketball right now. Check out his numbers over the past 10 games:
- 12.9 PPG
- 12.4 RPG
- 76.7 FG%
- 20+ pts/reb in 8/10 games
In a blowout loss against the Thunder in December (when Hartenstein was healthy), Kessler racked up 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting and added 11 rebounds .
SGP legs
Williams over 6.5 rebounds (-118): So which undersized OKC player is drawing the short straw of matching up with Kessler? That appears to be 6-foot-8 power forward Jaylin Williams.
Though undersized in height, Williams is listed at 250 pounds, so he’s not exactly “small” as a rebounder. And surely Kessler can’t grab all the boards under the net, right?
Williams has drawn into the starting lineup in three straight games due to OKC’s frontcourt injuries. He’s topped 26 minutes in back-to-back games — for the first time this season — and collected 18 rebounds in those matchups.
The third-year forward has cashed this bet in four of his past six games.
Dort 2+ threes (-315): Sometimes you shoot and shoot, and you come up empty. That’s what happened to Dort three nights ago in a scoreless showing against the Brooklyn Nets (0-for-5 from 3-point range).
It really doesn’t happen often, though, especially given Dort’s typical shooting volume beyond the arc.
The Montreal native is shooting a team-high 41.7% from deep on 5.6 attempts per game.
- Dort has 2+ threes in 25/41 games.
- In his past 11 games, he’s averaging 2.9 makes on 50.0% shooting beyond the arc.
Utah is a great team for Dort to bounce back against. The Jazz allow the third-most 3s per game to their opponents (14.4).
Picks made at 3:40 p.m. ET 01/22/2025
Jordan enjoys writing data-driven game previews and analysis articles — especially for MLB markets or NFL/NBA props. And as a proud Ohio University grad, he’ll always have a soft spot for college sports (especially if the Bobcats are involved). Previous stops include mlb.com, Sportsnet and The Athletic.