Free Daily NBA Lock Pick, Friday December 15th: NY Knicks vs Phoenix 10:00pm ET
CLICK TO SEE PICK NOW
Two Northwest Division rivals square off on Saturday night when the Oklahoma City Thunder (15-8, 15-7-1 ATS) travel to take on the Denver Nuggets (17-9, 11-14-1 ATS). The Thunder are currently 3rd in the Western Conference, while Denver is just a half game ahead in 2nd. The Thunder are coming off a 128-123 road loss in Sacramento, going down to the Kings as 2.5-point underdogs. Denver just dominated a home game against Brooklyn, winning 124-101 while covering the 9.5-point spread. This is the second matchup between these teams this season, with Denver winning big on the road 128-95 back in the beginning of the season. Tipoff is scheduled for 9:00 EST from the Ball Arena in Denver.
Want more winners in the NBA? Go here for more NBA Picks!
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and De'Aaron Fox are two of the best young superstars in the league, and they both went off in a high scoring showdown on Thursday. SGA scored 43 and Fox scored 41, but Fox got the last laugh as the Sacramento Kings pulled out the win at home. The Thunder lost the game behind the arc, they only hit 11 threes, while the Kings hit 18 which proved to be the difference in the close game. After SGA, the highest scorer on the Thunder was Josh Giddey with 18 points in the loss.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is 4th in the league in scoring with 31.0 PPG, while adding 6.4 APG and 5.5 RPG. Shai has scored 30 or more in his last four games, with the high coming against Sacramento. He attacks the basket and scores in midrange, unlike other backcourt scorers, Shai only averages 1.1 made threes per game. Jalen Williams is a strong wing who continues to make a name for himself in his second s eason, he is averaging 17.2 PPG and 4.2 RPG. Williams is hoping for a bounce back game after shooting 2-14 and finishing with five points against the Kings. Chet Holmgren continues to make his case for rookie of the year after missing all last year with an injury, Chet is averaging 16.9 PPG, 8.0 RPG and 2.4 blocks per game.
Josh Giddey is a solid role player adding 12.0 PPG and 6.1 RPG, while Lu Dort rounds out the starting lineup as a strong wing defender who averages 10.6 PPG. The best shooter on the team has been Isaiah Joe, the reserve guard leads the team in made threes with 2.5 per game. OKC ranks 9th in offensive efficiency and 7th in defensive efficiency according the dunksandthrees.com. The Thunder play fast, they rank 6th in the NBA in tempo.
Injury Report: None Listed