Nets vs Thunder Picks and Predictions: Giddey Hits the Boards for OKC

The Brooklyn Nets are rolling into this contest, but so are the Oklahoma City Thunder. 

Brooklyn is still hanging onto the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference, leading the Knicks by one in the loss column but trailing by one in the win column. Every game counts at this stage, and it can separate itself with a win tonight.

OKC, meanwhile, is surprisingly in the mix out West. It's one of three teams tied at 33-35, and sits just 2.5 games back of the sixth spot which would help it avoid the play-in tournament.

Let’s break down how this one should go in our Nets vs. Thunder NBA picks and predictions.

Nets vs Thunder best odds

Nets vs Thunder picks and predictions

Here’s what we know about this game, the Brooklyn Nets are going to play defense. Spencer Dinwiddie said after Brooklyn’s latest win — over the West's No. 1 seed Denver — that defense was this team’s identity. It’s certainly hard to argue that, too, considering the Nets’ 108.2 defensive rating over their last five games.

So, with a lot of missed shots, shouldn’t there be a lot of available rebounds? Over that five-game span, Brooklyn is third-to-last in rebounding rate with just 45.4% of available boards falling into its players’ hands. With this, I want to target a rebounding prop for Tuesday night’s tilt.

Josh Giddey has to be the guy we target here. He’s averaging 7.7 boards over the last 10 games and has gone Over 8.5 rebounds in three of his last five contests.

I suspect he will be around the basket a bunch, given the strength of the Nets is in their perimeter defense, and he should be there to collect plenty of misses which should pile up for both sides. For all the talk about Brooklyn’s defense, the Thunder have been pretty great on that end as well.

With Giddey continuing to be a warrior on the glass and trying to help his team get the win, I expect him to exceed his rebounding total tonight, and at plus money no less.

My best bet: Josh Giddey Over 8.5 rebounds (+100)

Nets vs Thunder spread analysis

The Thunder have won five of six and the Nets have won three of their last four. This feels like an impossible call, which is why the spread is so tight.

In the first meeting between these two teams, it was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey who shredded this defense for 28 points apiece, and a team led by Kyrie Irving would ultimately fall in Brooklyn.

Now, the Nets are a much different group following the departure of Irving and Kevin Durant, but it’s worth noting here that Nic Claxton had his way down low and put the hurt on Oklahoma City throughout this one. The bigman piled up 17 points and 13 rebounds, only to see his team lose.

We have only seen a few teams this season post a positive net rating on the road, which is why in situations like this it can be advantageous to side with the home team. To help matters, the Thunder are 11-5 against the spread as favorites in OKC, so that’s probably where I’d lean. You can certainly make a case that the Thunder are playing just as well as the Nets at the moment, and they essentially enter with a fully-healthy team.

Nets vs Thunder Over/Under analysis

Defense is going to rule this game with both teams ranking inside the Top 6 in defensive efficiency in the last five games. With that said, the Nets are 15th in pace over that period in time and will be entering into a pace-up spot against a Thunder team ranked fourth in that category over the last five and third for the entire season.

That makes this total a tricky one to handicap. I am generally not a fan of betting on either of these offenses, but the trends would seem to be pointing us towards the Over.

The Over is 11-5 this season when the Thunder enter as home favorites and it’s 11-9-1 when the Nets are spotted points on the road.

This number feels too high, but that’s probably why the Over is a solid bet. Both of these teams run at a frantic pace, after all, and both have shown competence on the offensive side of the ball lately.

I’m completely staying away from this total, as it’s too strange of a number.

Nets vs Thunder betting trend to know

The Thunder have covered in five of their last six games. Find more NBA betting trends for Nets vs. Thunder.

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