Oklahoma City Thunder NBA Playoffs Second Round Odds Analysis

The Oklahoma City Thunder made quick work of the Dallas Mavericks, and have to be pleased to be done with that series. The Thunder continued to catch drama off the court, including Mark Cuban’s comments or the Russell Westbrook dance. Oklahoma City lost Game 2 at home, but were just a split second away from winning that game as well. The Thunder get a little rest before their second round pro basketball betting match-up against the Spurs. Oklahoma City will be the underdog in this series, and have to start on the road. The Thunder and Spurs have been a likely second round match-up pretty much all season, so let’s see what inexperienced NBA coach Billy Donovan has in store.

Thunder wins! Takes series 4-1 to advance to Round 2 vs Spurs. Game 1 in San Antonio on Saturday. pic.twitter.com/IUvg20CiVd

— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) April 26, 2016

Oklahoma City Thunder NBA Playoffs Second Round Odds Analysis

The Thunder actually won 23 out of 41 games on the road during the regular season. Oklahoma City also beat the Mavericks both times in Dallas as well. The Thunder, of course are led by the big two of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Outside of Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, they are by far the highest scoring duo in the league. Kevin Durant led the team during the regular season with more than 28 points per game. Russell Westbrook had the most triple doubles of any player in the league during the regular season, and wrapped up a season with 20+ points and 10+ assists per game. Now that the postseason has started, those two are both scoring 26 points per game. Durant is playing in 38.2 minutes per game, while Westbrook is closer to 36. Billy Donovan will not want these two out of the game against a suffocating San Antonio defense. Also in the postseason, Durant is averaging just shy of 6 rebounds per game, while Westbrook continues to spread the wealth with 7.2 rebounds and 11.2 assists per game. The Thunder did not reach the postseason a season ago under Scott Brooks, but a large part of that was due to the foot injury that sidelined Kevin Durant.

It’s not all about KD and RW

Enes Kanter has had a good postseason for the Thunder as well. He is the third leading scorer on the team, ahead of Serge Ibaka and Dion Waiters. Kanter, who many felt should have been the 6th Man of the Year winner in the NBA is scoring 15.2 points per game, and also ripping down 7 rebounds per game. Dion Waiters, who struggled to shoot the basketball all season long has found his stroke, and looks to continue it. The former Syracuse guard is scoring 11 points per game for Oklahoma City as well. The Thunder have five guys scoring double figures per game, which has anchored them through the postseason. This is going to be a fantastic basketball season. The Oklahoma City Thunder will need to keep their cool all series. They cannot let the veteran wisdom of the San Antonio Spurs or the mind games of Gregg Popovich get to them. The Thunder must know this is a best of 7 series, and they are going to lose a game or two in this series. Oklahoma City should be able to use their wild athleticism more often than not. Get the pace moving fast, and the Thunder will be in good shape. This will be a great series, with it likely going 7 games. IN saying that, our prediction is going to be different. The Oklahoma City Thunder wrap up this series at home, in 6 games.