The top-seeded teams from each conference meet Wednesday night in a huge matchup between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Cleveland Cavaliers.
The pregame narrative: These teams have a combined 61-9 record so there are plenty of stars to choose from in the prop markets. I found value on picks for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jarrett Allen.
Check out my Thunder vs. Cavaliers prop picks for Jan. 8.
Thunder vs. Cavaliers prop picks
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Best Bet: Gilgeous-Alexander over 32.5 points (-120)
In my opinion, Gilgeous-Alexander is the MVP to this point.
He’s averaging 31.3 points on 52.4% shooting while carrying a young roster to a 30-5 record in the loaded Western Conference.
The Cavaliers provide a tough matchup but they are vulnerable to point guards. They allow the third-most points per game (26.1) to the position, per Fantasy Pros.
Additionally, Gilgeous-Alexander is on a tear, clearing this line in six of the past eight games.
During that time, he’s averaging 34.8 points on 57.6% from the field and 46.3% from three.
He’s coming off a 33-point performance over the East’s No. 2 seed, the Boston Celtics.
This is a tough matchup for the Thunder but a good one for Gilgeous-Alexander.
Key stat: He cleared this line in both meetings versus the Cavaliers last season, scoring 34 and 43 points.
Quick pick
Allen over 10.5 rebounds (-125): The Cavs centre has been inconsistent against this line. But this is a good matchup for him and I expect the game to be close.
Cleveland leads the NBA with an average scoring margin of +11.8, per Team Rankings.
That has led to many blowouts and the lowest minutes per game (29.0) for Allen since the 2020-21 season.
The Thunder are just behind with a +11.4 average scoring margin and are 2.5-point underdogs on Wednesday.
These elite teams should produce a tight matchup, helping Allen stay on the court. And as long as that’s the case, the 6-foot-9 centre should be active on the glass.
Allen averages right around this mark with 10.1 rebounds per game and the Thunder allow the seventh-most rebounds to centres (15.9).
Picks made at 10:25 a.m. ET 01/08/2025.
Spencer is a true sports junkie. A graduate of the Sports Journalism program at Centennial College, he first joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2023. He is now a contributing writer. He loves finding the edge to bet on in all sports but has a deep passion for the NBA and UFC. Previous stops include Sportsnet.