Thunder Against the Spread | OKC a Solid Favorite for Opening Night Clash with Houston

Tip-Off: 6:30 PM CT

Location: Paycom Center (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)

Spread: Thunder (-6.5)

Total: 227.5

Trends Against The Spread

Thunder	vs.	Rockets
0-0 (0%)	All	0-0 (0%)
0-0 (0%) at home	Location	0-0 (0%) on the road
0-0 (0%) as favorite	Status	0-0 (0%) as underdog
0-0 (0%) as home favorite	Location Status	0-0 (0%) as road underdog
0-0 (0%)	Head To Head	0-0 (0%)

Trends Against The Total

• Oklahoma City is 0-0 (0%) against the over on the season.
• Houston is 0-0 (0%) against the over on the season.
• The Thunder is 0-0 (0%) against the over at home.
• The Rockets are 0-0 (0%) against the over on the road.

Team Stats (2024-25 Regular Season)

TEAM	PTS	PA	FG%	3P%	REB	AST	TOV	STL	BLK	STRK	L10
HOU	114.3	109.8	45.5	35.3	48.5	23.3	13.9	8.4	5.0		0-0
OKC	120.5	107.6	48.2	37.4	44.8	26.9	11.7	10.3	5.7		0-0

Injury Report

Thunder

• Isaiah Joe (left knee contusion) is OUT.
• Thomas Sorber (right ACL surgical recovery) is OUT.
• Nikola Topic (surgical recovery) is OUT.
• Jalen Williams (right wrist surgical recovery) is OUT.
• Kenrich Williams (left knee surgical recovery) is OUT.

Rockets

• Fred VanVleet (ACL repair in right knee) is OUT.
• Isaiah Crawford (sprained left ankle) is QUESTIONABLE.
• Dorian Finney-Smith (left ankle surgery) is OUT.
• Jae’Sean Tate (right ankle surgery) is OUT.

Series History

OKC went 3-2 against the Rockets in the 2024-25 regular season (2-0 at home, 0-2 on the road, 1-0 at a neutral site).

Why the Thunder Will Cover (-6.5)

It’s opening night. Oklahoma City is presenting the 2025 NBA Finals Champion banner. Thunder players are receiving their championship rings. It’s going to be crazy at the Paycom Center. After all of that, there’s still a game to be played, and even though the Rockets are a young squad ready to take the next step, OKC is still the favorite to repeat as champions. Both teams are missing a key starter—Jalen Williams is out for OKC, and Fred VanVleet is out for Houston—plus Kevin Durant will be in the building for his debut with the Rockets. When it comes down to it, the Thunder is a deeper team, and they are going to get a solid win for the home crowd on opening night.

Why the Game Will Hit the Over (227.5)

Despite being two of the top defensive teams in the league, the Thunder and the Rockets tend to score a lot of points when playing each other. In 5 meetings last year, they combined for 235.2 points per game, combining for fewer than the line for tonight’s game just once. Shots might take some time to fall, but I think both teams will get after each other early, which will lead to some quick scoring. In the end, we’ll see the point total go over the line.

Staff Picks

On the Season (Records from Last Season)

Name	Moneyline	Spread	Over/Under
Matt	78-25	63-38-1	49-54-1
Zack	84-22	69-37	53-53
Craig	81-23	71-31-2	54-49-1