Thunder vs Spurs NBA Handicapping
The Thunder and Spurs each have 18 games left after’s tonight’s battle in San Antonio, so this one hardly means curtains for the loser as the teams maneuver for the best record in the Western Conference and the right to home-court advantage in any upcoming playoff series.
Oklahoma City Thunder (47-16) at San Antonio Spurs (48-15)
Monday, March 11
AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas
10:30 p.m. EST
Spread – Spurs -2.5 at SportsBettingOnline.ag
Total – 208
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But with the Clippers 4 games out, either the Spurs or Thunder will finish first, and this game will at least give us an indication of what an OKC-SA conference championship series would look like.
San Antonio is still adjusting to life without injured (ankle) PG Tony Parker, and it’s painfully obvious from its 30-point loss in Portland last Friday night that there is still work to be done.
Spurs backers caution that not too much should be taken from the 136-106 beatdown because the starters played limited minutes and Trail Blazers did most of their damage against Spurs subs in the fourth quarter.
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Gregg Popovich has resisted the urge to insert Manu Ginobili into the starting lineup, keeping the lefty comfortable in his position as first sub off the bench and giving the bulk of Parker’s minutes to 4th-year player Danny Green.
It will take a while for Green to settle in, and just as long for the rest of the team to acclimate to life without one of the NBA’s top 5 PGs. [ad-6571516]
The loss to Portland – the second-worst ever suffered by San Antonio at home – should at least give the boys some focus for tonight’s game. And if the Spurs have already put that game behind them, they might want to review tapes of last season’s playoffs, when the Thunder roared back from a 2-0 deficit in the conference finals and crushed the Spurs like a grape.
Parker’s absence tonight no doubt has shot-happy Thunder PG Russell Westbrook salivating. Though the Thunder defense stifled the Celtics yesterday, Westbrook was held to 15 points (8 below his average) by Boston defender Avery Bradley, and SA no doubt knows that should be aware that the Robin to Kevin Durant’s Batman will no doubt be looking to make amends.
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Tonight marks the first time this season that the Thunder have had to play a decent team on the road after playing the day before, and they have had mixed results in that situation this season against mediocre road teams.
But OKC showed yesterday against Boston that it can crack down defensively when it has to, and only a 2-point loss at Denver in a game that went to the wire stands between the Thunder and a 10-game winning streak.
OKC and the Nuggets are playing the best ball in the conference right now, and that trumps whatever rest SA has had since playing last Friday.
Thunder to cover, and if you don’t like that one, look at the under. The Spurs will move heaven and earth to control tempo in this one.
