Thunder Against the Spread | Shorthanded OKC Enters Meeting With Jazz as Solid Road Favorite

Tip-Off: 7 PM CT

Location: Delta Center (Salt Lake City, Utah)

Spread: Thunder (-9.5)

Total: 236.5

Trends Against The Spread

Thunder	at	Jazz
12-11 (52%)	All	12-10 (54%)
6-6 (50%) on the road	Location	9-3 (75%) at home
12-11 (52%) as favorite	Status	9-9 (50%) as underdog
6-6 (50%) as road favorite	Location Status	7-3 (70%) as home underdog
1-0 (100%)	Head To Head	0-1 (0%)

Trends Against The Total

• Oklahoma City is 13-10 (56%) against the over on the season.
• Utah is 14-8 (63%) against the over on the season.
• The Thunder is 7-5 (58%) against the over on the road.
• The Jazz are 9-3 (75%) against the over at home.

Team Stats

TEAM	PTS	PA	FG%	3P%	REB	AST	TOV	STL	BLK	STRK	L10
OKC	122.7	107.1	49.4	36.7	44.7	26.3	12.5	10.1	5.4	W14	10-0
UTA	118.4	125.6	45.4	34.3	45.5	29.7	16.5	7.9	3.5	L1	4-6

Injury Report

Thunder

• Branden Carlson (nasal fracture) is AVAILABLE.
• Alex Caruso (right quad contusion) is OUT.
• Luguentz Dort (strained right adductor) is OUT.
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (left elbow bursitis) is OUT.
• Isaiah Hartenstein (strained right soleus) is OUT.
• Isaiah Joe (left knee soreness) is OUT.
• Thomas Sorber (right ACL surgical recovery) is OUT.
• Nikola Topic (surgical recovery) is OUT.
• Chris Youngblood (G League — two-way) is AVAILABLE.

Jazz

• Elijah Harkless (G League — two-way) is OUT.
• Walker Kessler (left shoulder injury recovery) is OUT.
• Lauri Markkanen (illness) is OUT.
• Georges Niang (fourth metatarsal stress reaction in left foot) is OUT.
• John Tonje (G League — two-way) is OUT.

Series History

OKC is 1-0 against Utah so far this season (0-0 at home, 1-0 on the road).

Why the Thunder Will Cover (-9)

This is as low a spread as OKC has had in quite some time, and it’s not because of a tough opponent. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is set to miss his first game of the season with elbow bursitis, and the Thunder is also without Luguentz Dort, Isaiah Hartenstein, Alex Caruso, and Isaiah Joe. That’s a pretty lengthy list of key players. Still, OKC is as deep as they come, and this will allow Jalen Williams to run the show in a sense. Even with all the absences, I still think OKC wins by double digits.

Why the Game Will NOT Hit the Over (236.5)

I can understand why the point total is so high, considering OKC is missing so much, but it’s not like the Jazz have a high-powered offense or anything. Yes, they’re in the top half of the league in points per game, and Lauri Markannen is a great scorer, but he’s out with an illness, and the Thunder plays intense defense all the way down the depth chart. I think OKC wins big because of their ability to get stops, which tends to result in a lower scoring point total—at least lower than this line—so I’m taking the under.

Staff Picks

On the Season

Name	Moneyline	Spread	Over/Under
Matt	21-2	14-8	8-15
Zack	22-1	11-12	11-12
Craig	22-1	10-12-1	7-16