The Oklahoma City Thunder are clear cut favorites to extend their series lead when they take on the New Orleans Pelicans in a game 2 encounter.
Thew first game was markedly close with the Thunder managing a 94-92 win in their first game.
The Thunder will look to another strong showing for MVP finalist Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who has been in superb form and is the league’s third highest scorer averaging 30.1 points per game. Gilgeous-Alexander is ranked second in the NBA with an average of 2.0 steals per game.
Another Thunder player Chet Holmgren is ranked fifth in the league with blocks per game going at 2.3 an outing.
In their first game of this playoff series, Gilgeous-Alexander top scored with 28 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.
The Pelicans will look to Trey Murphy III and CJ McCollum to take the game deep and square the series.
Murphy scored 21 points and McCollum 20 respectively in that loss.
Jonas Valancuinas was superb off the boards and won a game high 2- rebounds.
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Breakdown: A Tale of Two Teams
Team Thunder Pelicans Record 57-25 39-33 O/U Record 27-14-0 (home) 19-21-1 (on the road) Spread Record 46-36-1 46-36-1 Injuries Olivier Sarr Zion Williamson Key players to watch Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Brandon Ingram - Time: 9:30 PM ET
- Venue: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- Live Stream: TNT, Fubo, BSOK
The head-to-head record between the two teams over the past five years is dead even at 9-9 with the Thunder team winning their last three encounters.
The last time the Pelicans beat the Thunder was on November 2 when they won 110-106.
The Thunder have won five of their last six games against the Pelicans.
The Thunder have only lost eight games at home all season, including their last five and will be confident of going 2-0 up.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are 16-2 at home as a favorite over their last 18 games.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are 9-1 as a favorite over their last 10 games and are 18-2 at home after a win over their last 20 games.
The over hit in 1 of the Oklahoma City Thunder last 5 games at home as a favorite.
Our Picks:
Oklahoma Thunder vs New Orleans Pelicans – Thunder open up as clear favorites to take a 2-0 series lead
The Thunder are the massive MoneyLine favorites and be had at -331 while New Orleans will start as +261 underdogs.
The Pelicans will likely be without their star player Zion Williamson who is struggling with a left hamstring strain, and he will surely be rested and hopefully be ready for Game 3.
There will be some key players for both teams that will be looking to beat the props if their team wants to dominate. Brandon Ingram of the Pelicans is a vital player and will need to go Over 19.5 (+100) in scoring and 30.5 overall in points, assists and rebounds.
Other than Gilgeous-Alexander, Holmgren will be looking to beat the odds and lead the Thunder to a 2-0 lead. He is set to go over thew 15.5, as he boasts a season average of 16.5.
The Over hit in 4 of the Pelicans last six playoff games, while the over hit in only 2 of their last ten games as an underdog.
The Thunder are 34-8 at home this season and 58-25 overall, earning the number one seed in the Western Conference.
The over hit in 20 of the Oklahoma City Thunder last 42 games at home this season.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have won their last 4 games against opponents with a winning record.
Thunder ATS: The against the spread record for the Thunder is 46-36.
Pelicans ATS: The Pelicans are at 46-36-1 regarding the ATS.
Pick 1: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to go Over 29.5
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Thunder will go Over the 29.5 as set by the bookmakers and can be had at odds of -102. he is the league’s third ranked scorer on average with 30.1, which is 0.6 higher than Wednesday’s Over/Under.
Pick 2: Thunder and Pelicans to go Under the Total (211)
The Over/Under pick is 211 and considering the low-scoring first game we believe this could be an Under game. Their last combined total in Game 1 was 186 and based on this latest form and the pressure on the line, it will be another game where both or either team does not reach 100+ points.
