NBA preview and tips: Oklahoma City Thunder at Golden State Warriors
- George Dempsey
- 4 April 2023
There are huge play-off implications when the Thunder (38-41) and the Warriors (41-38) clash at Chase Center on Tuesday.
Despite having a losing record, the Thunder currently occupy the 10th and final play-in spot in the Eastern Conference. They're currently a full game ahead of the Mavericks, but things could still go wrong.
The Warriors are guaranteed a spot at the dance, but sitting just half a game ahead of the chasing Lakers, they'll want to keep winning and avoid next week's play-in games.
The Thunder have only managed to win 15 of their 39 road games this season, but they've covered the spread in 23 of them.
OKC have often been overlooked and undervalued, particularly against good teams. They're 27-13-3 ATS against a team with a winning home record.
The Warriors fit that profile, but we also have to acknowledge that the Thunder are flying off the rails right now. They're on an 0-7 ATS run and doing considerable harm to their play-off charge.
The Warriors remain a force at home, where they've covered in 38 of their last 55 games, and have gone a comfortable 5-1 ATS against visitors winning less than 40% of road games.
Both teams come into this game rested and the Warriors know they'll get three more days off after this. If you couple that with the fact this is their last home game, they're likely to put forward their best effort.
One more win may or may not be enough to guarantee their spot in the play-offs, but their road form has been so poor this season, this is an opportunity they'll want to seize.
Despite a recent dip in form, OKC are no pushover. Just one more win gets the job done for them, making their game with the Jazz on Thursday one they may be looking ahead to.
Standout ATS Trends
Team News
Andre Iguodala, Andrew Wiggins, and Ryan Rollins are out. Kenrich Willians and Chet Holmgreen are out for the Thunder, who have no significant injuries.
- George Dempsey provides basketball tips as The NBA Tipster on Tipstrr
