NBA Pick

NBA Betting Trends

The defending Western Conference champion Oklahoma City Thunder (44-16 overall, 17-12 road) visit the New York Knicks (37-21 overall, 21-9 home) Thursday at 8:00 PM ET in the first game of TNT’s double header.

Oklahoma City

The Thunder hold a five-game lead over the Denver Nuggets for first place in the Northwest division. They are second in the Western Conference, trailing the San Antonio Spurs by three games.

Oklahoma City is one of the best teams in the NBA on both sides of the ball. It ranks second in the league in scoring with 107.0 points per game and third in field goal percentage (48.3%). It also ranks second in field goal percentage defense, holding its opponents to 42.9 percent shooting.

The Thunder are led by forward Kevin Durant, who leads the team in scoring (28.6 ppg) and rebounding (7.9 rpg).

Point guard Russell Westbrook is his partner in crime. Westbrook is second on the team in scoring (23.6 ppg) and leads the squad with 7.8 assists per contest. Guard Kevin Martin and forward Serge Ibaka also average double figures in scoring.

New York

The Knicks are sitting atop the Atlantic division with a 3.5-game lead on the Brooklyn Nets. They are second in the Eastern Conference behind the Miami Heat, sitting 7.5-games out of first.

New York hasn’t had much trouble putting the ball in the basket, but defense has been an issue at times. It ranks 10th in the league in scoring with 99.9 points per game and has done much of its damage from beyond the arc. It ranks seventh in the NBA in three-point shooting percentage, knocking down the deep ball at a 37.0 percent clip.

Defensively, New York is allowing its opponents to shoot 45.9 percent from the field. That figure is good for only 19th in the league.

The Knicks are led by forward Carmelo Anthony, who is just behind Durant at 28.2 points per game. Anthony is listed dealing with a knee injury, and is currently listed as questionable for tonight’s contest.

Guard J.R. Smith, sixth man extraordinaire, is second on the squad with 16.1 points per contest. Guard Raymond Felton, who leads the team in assists with 5.9 per game, is third on the team in scoring with 14.8 points per contest. Forward Amar’e Stoudemire is fourth with 14.2 points per game. Center Tyson Chandler is averaging a double-double with 11.1 points and 11.3 rebounds.

Prediction

This is a tough scheduling spot for the Knicks, who will be playing their second game in as many days and their fourth game in five days. The Thunder should be the fresher side as they haven’t played on consecutive days since Jan. 22-23.

Also, the Thunder have had the upper hand in this series, winning the last two and five of the last six. I lean with the Thunder in this one.