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**TheGame** · 05-18-2016, 07:42 AM

Re: NBA Betting Info. 5/18

Wednesday's NBA Conference Finals betting preview and odds: Thunder at Warriors

Oklahoma City Thunder at Golden State Warriors (-8.5, 221.5)

Thunder lead series 1-0

The Oklahoma City Thunder looked overmatched for all of 24 minutes in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals before proving emphatically that they not only belong with the Golden State Warriors, but have a chance to beat the defending champs. The Thunder will try to take a 2-0 lead in the series when they visit the Warriors for Game 2 on Wednesday.

Oklahoma City faced a 13-point halftime deficit after committing 10 turnovers and struggling to defend Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson in the first half. The Thunder cut that number to two turnovers after the break and refused to bend to Golden State’s lineup changes, leaving centers Steven Adams and Enes Kanter in the game despite the Warriors going small. “In the second half, we did a much, much better job,” Oklahoma City coach Billy Donovan told reporters. “We took better care of the basketball, which enabled us to get back in transition, and I think probably play better defense.” The Warriors went 6-of-23 from the floor in the fourth quarter, including 1-of-10 from 3-point range, and got a combined three points from Curry and Thompson in the decisive period.

TV: 9 p.m. ET, TNT

LINE HISTORY: The point spread for this Western Conference Final Game 2 opened Monday night with the Warriors pegged as 8.5-point favorites. The total opened at 221.5. At the time of publishing this preview on Tuesday night neither the spread or the total have moved. Check out the complete line history here.

ABOUT THE THUNDER (64-30, 45-48-1 ATS, 45-49 O/U): Oklahoma City proved it had no trouble playing in hostile environments when it took two games at San Antonio in the conference semifinals and now has a chance to take the first two games of the conference finals on the road against a team that dropped only two home games during the regular season. Westbrook exploded for 19 points in the third quarter to pull the Thunder within 88-85 and Durant broke out of a shooting slump with a jumper off the dribble from the top of the key with 30.7 seconds left that put the game away. "We're a resilient group," Durant said. "We just keep fighting till the end. "We're sticking to who we are as a team."

ABOUT THE WARRIORS (81-12, 52-39-2 ATS, 50-42-1 O/U): Golden State lamented its lack of patience on the offensive end in the fourth quarter and hoisted up too many quick shots instead of running the offense. “Our preparation won’t change,” Warriors forward Draymond Green told reporters. “I’m sure we’ll have a light practice (Tuesday) like we always do, we’ll watch some film, we’ll get ready to go for Wednesday. It’s not like some things happened that we know couldn’t happen. I think our defensive game plan was pretty good – really good. Offensively we sucked, so we know that’s something that we know what was the cause of it and that we can improve on, but our preparation won’t change.” Golden State has yet to lose consecutive games this season.

TRENDS:

* Thunder are 10-2 ATS in their last 12 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
* Warriors are 7-2 ATS in their last 8 home games.
* Under is 5-1 in Thunder last 5 Conference Finals games.
* Under is 6-1 in Warriors last 6 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.
* Under is 4-0 in the last 4 meetings in Golden State.

CONSENSUS: Following their successful trip to Oracle Arena in Game 1, the Thunder are getting 56 percent of the public love. As for the total, the wagering public continues to pound the Over - in this case at a rate of 61 percent.

**TheGame** · 05-18-2016, 07:42 AM

Re: NBA Betting Info. 5/18

Game 2 - Thunder at Warriors
By Kevin Rogers

The Warriors entered the Western Conference Finals against the Thunder by losing only twice at Oracle Arena in 47 tries, while capturing all three regular season meetings with Oklahoma City. The Thunder struck down those trends in the series opener by erasing a 13-point halftime deficit to stun the Warriors, 108-102 to steal Game 1 as 7 ½-point underdogs.

Oklahoma City guard Russell Westbrook struggled in the opening half by scoring only three points, but turned things around in the second half by posting 24 points. Kevin Durant overcame a 10-of-30 night from the floor by drilling a jumper in the final minute to give the Thunder a 105-100 advantage. Durant finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds, as OKC outrebounded Golden State, 52-44. The Thunder overcame some rough shooting at the free throw line early (2-of-7) to finish 22-of-32 from the charity stripe, including 5-of-6 in the final minute.

The Warriors jumped out to a 60-47 halftime advantage, highlighted by a buzzer-beating three-pointer from league MVP Stephen Curry. Golden State’s lead hit 12 points with 3:30 remaining in the third quarter, but OKC finished the period on a 16-7 run to pull within three points. The Warriors were limited to just 14 points in the final 12 minutes, while Curry shot 1-of-4 for three points in the fourth quarter. Curry finished with a team-high 26 points, while Klay Thompson put up 25 points, but the "Splash Brothers" along with Draymond Green combined to shoot 29-of-67 from the floor (43%).

The Oklahoma City bench outscored Golden State’s reserves, 21-16, as Dion Waiters stepped up with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting for the Thunder. Not one of the Warriors reserves scored more than six points, while Curry, Thompson, and Green each played 40 minutes. Durant sat out only two minutes in the game, as three of four OKC starters played at least 36 minutes (Westbrook - 40).

The Thunder improved to 5-1 SU/ATS on the road in the postseason, which includes three victories at San Antonio and Golden State since May 2. Oklahoma City has won three times as an underdog of at least seven points, while Billy Donovan’s club owns a solid 8-4 ATS record in the playoffs. The Thunder have compiled a 6-2 ATS mark in its last eight opportunities as an underdog since losing by 15 points at Golden State on March 3.

Steve Kerr’s squad has yet to lose consecutive games this season, coming off their 12th defeat of the season. NBA expert Chris David delves into this profitable trend, “Since Golden State hasn’t dropped back-to-back contests all season, the quick handicap for Game 2 would have you leaning to the Warriors and it’s hard to argue against the trends for them off a loss. The Warriors have gone 7-3-1 against the number in the victories and they beat some quality opponents including the Cavaliers, Clippers, Spurs and both the Rockets and Trail Blazers twice a piece.”

Golden State has covered only twice in the last seven Game 2’s of a playoff series since 2014, while needing to erase a 17-point deficit in its previous chance in the conference semifinals against Portland as nine-point favorites, 110-99. Since starting the 2015 championship run with a 2-4 ATS record at Oracle Arena, the Warriors have cashed in eight of their last 11 home playoff contests in spite of the Game 1 defeat.

From a totals perspective, David believes a higher-scoring game is in order for Wednesday, “The total for Game 2 was sent out at 221 ½ and I believe the oddsmakers adjusted too quickly after watching Game go ‘under’ (225) the number. The game started slow with a 48-point first quarter but picked up soon after and died late as the Warriors couldn’t buy a shot in the final 12 minutes. I still can’t ignore the fact that despite not being on target (44%) from the field, Golden State had 60 points at halftime and 88 after three quarters.”

It was mentioned earlier about Golden State’s ability to bounce back off a loss, but David notes that the Warriors put up plenty of points in this situation, “The number that stands out for me is what Golden State does offensively off a loss. The club is averaging 121.2 points per game after a loss and that includes 121 and 132-point efforts in this year’s postseason. The ‘over’ has gone 7-4 in those games and while I would lean to the high side in Game 2, I believe the smarter investment is taking the Golden State team total ‘over’ (115).”

Oklahoma City became only the third team this postseason to win a series opener on the road. Indiana and Miami each won at Toronto through the first two rounds of the playoffs in Game 1, but the Raptors came back to capture Game 2. However, Toronto only managed to cover in the opening round Game 2 contest against Indiana, while not cashing in an overtime victory over Miami to begin the conference semifinals. Since 2014, home teams that dropped Game 1 in a playoff series won five of seven times in Game 2, but covered only three times.

From a series price standpoint, Golden State is still the favorite to advance to the Western Conference Finals at -175 (Bet $175 to win $100). David provides his view on how to bet the series from here, “While I selected Oklahoma City to win this series in seven games, my prediction was based more on value and catching the Thunder at odds as high as 7/2. Sticking with value, I’d come back with Golden State as a minus-175 choice to win the series. Oklahoma City has dropped home games in each of its first two playoff series and if Golden State wins on Wednesday, you’ll see the series price rocket back up closer to the opening numbers of 1/4 odds.”

Golden State is currently listed as an 8 ½-point favorite at most sports books, while the total is hovering between 221 ½ and 222. The game tips off at 9:05 PM EST from Oakland and can be seen on TNT.

**TheGame** · 05-18-2016, 07:42 AM

Re: NBA Betting Info. 5/18

Preview: Thunder (55-27) at Warriors (73-9)

Date: May 18, 2016 9:00 PM EDT

The Oklahoma City Thunder have won three straight road playoff games against teams that dropped a total of three home games during the regular season.

If they make it four straight for the second time in franchise history, they'll be in a commanding position against a Golden State Warriors team bidding to put itself in the history books.

The Thunder look to take a 2-0 Western Conference finals lead Wednesday night against the Warriors, who seek to recover from a 14-point fourth quarter in the opener.

The West was supposed to be won by either Golden State or San Antonio, teams that combined to go 79-3 at home in the regular season. Those clubs now have been victimized at home three straight times by Oklahoma City, which won Game 1 over the Warriors 108-102 on Monday after winning the final two games in San Antonio of its semifinal series.

The Thunder franchise hasn't won four straight on the road in the playoffs since the 1995-96 Seattle SuperSonics did it en route to the NBA Finals. Oklahoma City is 5-1 on the road in this postseason.

"You have to have a mindset coming into these kinds of venues. Our guys, I think they understand what they're walking into," coach Billy Donovan said. "You don't just walk in here say, `Oh, everything's going to be OK.' You have to have a mindset to understand. The first thing is to embrace the fact it's going to be hard."

Golden State was stifled after building a 13-point halftime lead. The Warriors' 42 second-half points and 14 in the fourth both were lows for this postseason.

The club didn't lose two straight during its record 73-win season. Doing so now would put Golden State in a major hole heading to Oklahoma City.

"That doesn't matter at this point," said forward Draymond Green, who scored 23 points. "Obviously, it helps just knowing what to do to not lose back-to-back games, but it's the playoffs. It's the conference finals."

Coach Steve Kerr noted that the team's film session Tuesday went well while Green was quick to point out that the Thunder prevailed even though Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook combined to make 17 of 51 shots for their 53 points. Westbrook missed nine of his first 10 attempts.

"The other guys are playing better," Green said. "KD (Durant) didn't play well last night to KD's standards. Russ didn't play to Russ's standards, yet they won the game because the other guys are playing better. So that's something that we've got to take care of and make sure that everybody else is not getting off and having really good games."

Steven Adams had 16 points and 12 boards and Serge Ibaka added 11 of each as the Thunder held a 52-44 edge on the glass. Oklahoma City led the league in average rebound margin during the season at plus-8.4 and has upped that margin to plus-9.5 in the postseason.

The Warriors got 51 points from league MVP Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, although Curry's seven assists to seven turnovers were problematic. The duo missed nine of 10 shots in a final period in which Golden State made 6 of 23 attempts.

"This is obviously a really good defensive team we're playing against," Kerr said. "They've got length and athleticism, and in a lot of cases they force you into kind of iso ball. I thought they did that to San Antonio quite a bit in the last series."

Durant posted his first double-double of the playoffs with 10 rebounds while Westbrook added 12 assists and seven steals. The Thunder also got to the foul line 32 times to 17 for the Warriors.

Although Oklahoma City now has home-court advantage, it isn't taking anything for granted.

"We got a W the first Game 1, but there is a lot of basketball to be played, so we can't be too excited," Durant said. "It was a good win for us, but we're not going to be jumping up and down, chest-bumping on the court. We've got a lot more basketball to play."

**TheGame** · 05-18-2016, 07:42 AM

Re: NBA Betting Info. 5/18

'Western Conference Finals'

Golden State Warriors suffering their first home loss of the postseason were stuned 105-102 as -7.5 point home chalk in the opener of their best-of-seven Western Conference Finals vs Oklahoma Thunder. According to current odds, Warriors are -8.5 point favorites for game-two scheduled for Wednesday night in Oakland.

Laying 8.5 points can be risky. However, in this case the numbers add up well enough to conclude Warriors are the right choice. Warriors have shown 'what their made of' after a loss. Following nine regular season defeats the Warriors posted a sparkling 9-0 (6-3 ATS) mark the next game. In two postseason losses this season the Warriors are 2-0 SU/ATS moving their playoff stretch to 12-3 ATS following a loss.

Matching that, Warriors have a perfect 5-0 ATS streak these playoffs laying -8.5 to -9.5 points. One final nugget favoring Golden State, despite the setback in game-one, Warriors remain a profitable 4-1 against the betting line running the hardwood with Thunder in Oakland.

**Satch** · 05-18-2016, 09:53 AM

Re: NBA Betting Info. 5/18

Preview: Oklahoma City At Golden State

When: 9:00 PM ET, Wednesday, May 18, 2016
Where: Oracle Arena, Oakland, California

Matchup Edge

OKC	Edge in:	GS
	Points Per Game
	Field Goal %
	Free Throw %
	Defense
	Rebounding
	Turn Overs
	Bench

The Oklahoma City Thunder looked overmatched for all of 24 minutes in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals before proving emphatically that they not only belong with the Golden State Warriors, but have a chance to beat the defending champs. The Thunder will try to take a 2-0 lead in the series when they visit the Warriors for Game 2 on Wednesday.

Oklahoma City faced a 13-point halftime deficit after committing 10 turnovers and struggling to defend Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson in the first half. The Thunder cut that number to two turnovers after the break and refused to bend to Golden State’s lineup changes, leaving centers Steven Adams and Enes Kanter in the game despite the Warriors going small. “In the second half, we did a much, much better job,” Oklahoma City coach Billy Donovan told reporters. “We took better care of the basketball, which enabled us to get back in transition, and I think probably play better defense.” The Warriors went 6-of-23 from the floor in the fourth quarter, including 1-of-10 from 3-point range, and got a combined three points from Curry and Thompson in the decisive period.

TV: 9 p.m. ET, TNT

ABOUT THE THUNDER: Oklahoma City proved it had no trouble playing in hostile environments when it took two games at San Antonio in the conference semifinals and now has a chance to take the first two games of the conference finals on the road against a team that dropped only two home games during the regular season. Westbrook exploded for 19 points in the third quarter to pull the Thunder within 88-85 and Durant broke out of a shooting slump with a jumper off the dribble from the top of the key with 30.7 seconds left that put the game away. "We're a resilient group," Durant said. "We just keep fighting till the end. "We're sticking to who we are as a team."

ABOUT THE WARRIORS: Golden State lamented its lack of patience on the offensive end in the fourth quarter and hoisted up too many quick shots instead of running the offense. “Our preparation won’t change,” Warriors forward Draymond Green told reporters. “I’m sure we’ll have a light practice (Tuesday) like we always do, we’ll watch some film, we’ll get ready to go for Wednesday. It’s not like some things happened that we know couldn’t happen. I think our defensive game plan was pretty good – really good. Offensively we sucked, so we know that’s something that we know what was the cause of it and that we can improve on, but our preparation won’t change.” Golden State has yet to lose consecutive games this season.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Warriors C Andrew Bogut (hip) started and played 17 minutes in Game 1 but did not see the floor in the fourth quarter.

2. Adams and Oklahoma City PF Serge Ibaka combined for 27 points and 23 rebounds in Game 1.

3. Curry has hit at least one 3-pointer in an NBA-record 45 straight playoff games.

PREDICTION: Warriors 115, Thunder 106

**Satch** · 05-18-2016, 09:55 AM

Re: NBA Betting Info. 5/18

Trends - Oklahoma City at Golden State
ATS Trends

Oklahoma City

Thunder are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
Thunder are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
Thunder are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games overall.
Thunder are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 vs. Western Conference.
Thunder are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games playing on 1 days rest.
Thunder are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
Thunder are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 road games.
Thunder are 10-2 ATS in their last 12 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
Thunder are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 Wednesday games.
Thunder are 15-5-1 ATS in their last 21 when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game.
Thunder are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game.

Golden State

Warriors are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 Wednesday games.
Warriors are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games following a ATS loss.
Warriors are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.
Warriors are 7-2 ATS in their last 9 home games.
Warriors are 7-3-1 ATS in their last 11 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
Warriors are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 when their opponent allows 100 points or more in their previous game.
Warriors are 9-4 ATS in their last 13 games overall.
Warriors are 9-4 ATS in their last 13 vs. Western Conference.
Warriors are 51-25-2 ATS in their last 78 games following a straight up loss.

OU Trends

Oklahoma City

Over is 6-1 in Thunder last 7 Wednesday games.
Under is 5-1 in Thunder last 6 Conference Finals games.
Under is 4-1 in Thunder last 5 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
Over is 4-1 in Thunder last 5 after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game.
Over is 8-3 in Thunder last 11 when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game.
Over is 19-9 in Thunder last 28 games playing on 1 days rest.

Golden State

Under is 5-1 in Warriors last 6 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
Under is 5-1 in Warriors last 6 Conference Finals games.
Over is 4-1 in Warriors last 5 when their opponent allows 100 points or more in their previous game.
Over is 6-2 in Warriors last 8 games playing on 1 days rest.
Under is 8-3 in Warriors last 11 games following a ATS loss.
Over is 21-8-1 in Warriors last 30 vs. NBA Northwest.
Under is 18-7-1 in Warriors last 26 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.
Under is 5-2 in Warriors last 7 after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game.
Under is 11-5 in Warriors last 16 when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game.

Head to Head

Under is 4-0 in the last 4 meetings in Golden State.
Home team is 7-1-1 ATS in the last 9 meetings.
Thunder are 1-4 ATS in the last 5 meetings in Golden State.

Announcement

NBA Betting Info. 5/18

NBA Betting Info. 5/18

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