The Oklahoma City Thunder are massive home favourites over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday.
The pregame narrative: I’m shaving 5.5 points off OKC’s standard -17.5 line tonight. Prop bets on two Brooklyn Nets — Nic Claxton and D’Angelo Russell — round out this +390 wager.
Check out my Nets vs. Thunder same-game parlay predictions for Jan. 19.
Nets vs. Thunder predictions
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Parlay: Thunder -12 + Claxton over 7.5 rebounds + Russell over 1.5 threes (+320)
Thunder -12 (-225): This game has blowout written all over it.
OKC is a juggernaut with a laser focus on the Larry O’Brien Trophy while Brooklyn is hoping for a bit of luck in this year’s draft lottery.
Take a look at how impressive the Thunder have been so far:
- 34-6 record
- 13-5-1 ATS record a home favourite
- +12.5 net rating (best in the NBA)
Brooklyn owns a fantastic 15-8-1 ATS record as a road underdog, so I’m trimming a few points off the spread. But the Nets are 25th in net rating and are on the last leg of a six-game West Coast road trip that’s gone terribly.
Fatigue should set in for a team that’s grossly outmatched.
SGP legs
Claxton over 7.5 rebounds (-103): The one flaw in OKC’s game is its rebounding. Isaiah Hartenstein was acquired to fix that problem but is out with an injury tonight.
The big man also missed the first 15 games of the season with an injury. In that span, the Thunder ranked dead last in rebounding rate (46.3%).
Claxton doesn’t have the biggest frame but at 6-foot-11 he’s a natural rebounder.
The sixth-year center is averaging 7.5 rebounds per game and is playing 28.0 minutes a night in January, which is the highest of any month this season.
He’s primed to have an above-average performance in a great matchup.
Russell over 1.5 threes (-230): Russell was acquired in a trade from the Los Angeles Lakers to start 2025 and is starting to find his stroke after a few games.
He’s shooting 9-for-18 from deep over his last three games with the Nets, clearing this total twice.
He most recently cashed five threes against the Lakers in a revenge game of sorts.
The Thunder own an elite perimeter defence but this should be an attainable number if Russell sticks to his 5.8 three-point attempts per game.
Picks made at 11:24 a.m. on 01/19/24.
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.