Oklahoma City Thunder vs Houston Rockets Prediction, 3/21/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Oklahoma City Thunder vs Houston Rockets

Date: Sunday, March 21, 2021

Location: Toyota Center in Houston, TX

TV: Fox Sports Oklahoma

Odds/Point Spread: Oklahoma City (+2)

The Houston Rockets (11-29) host the Oklahoma City Thunder (17-24) at Toyota Center on Sunday. Houston opens this matchup as 2-point favorites. The total is set at 217.

The Oklahoma City Thunder took the court against the Atlanta Hawks and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 116-93 in their last contest. Oklahoma City ended with a 36.6% field goal percentage (34 out of 93) and buried 13 of their 34 three-point shots. At the charity stripe, the Thunder converted 12 of their 16 attempts for a percentage of 75.0%. When it comes to hauling in rebounds, they compiled 38 with 11 of them being of the offensive variety. They also doled out 18 dimes for this game while forcing the opposition into 14 turnovers and earning 5 steals. Pertaining to defense, Oklahoma City allowed the other team to go 54.0% from the field on 47 of 87 shooting. Atlanta totaled 26 dimes and had 6 steals for this game. Moreover, Atlanta totaled 50 boards (6 offensive, 44 defensive) and earned 3 rejections. Atlanta ended up going 84.6% at the charity stripe by burying 11 of their 13 shots. They buried 11 of 33 shots from 3-point range.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is someone who was a factor in this contest. He ended up scoring 19 points on 8 out of 18 shooting. He played 30:52 minutes and also totaled 3 rebounds. Gilgeous-Alexander finished the contest at 44.4% from the floor and also totaled 4 dimes. One more player that came through in this matchup for the Thunder was Al Horford. He pulled down 6 rebounds in 24:32 minutes on the court. He finished the contest at 23.1% from the floor for the game by shooting 3-of-13 (11 points). Overall, Horford accounted for 2 assists.

Oklahoma City will enter this contest with a record of 17-24 this season. They have an average of 106.0 points per outing (27th in basketball) while shooting 44.8% from the field. The Thunder are connecting on 34.6% on three-point attempts (525 of 1,517) and 74.4% from the free throw line. As a team, Oklahoma City is collecting 44.3 boards per game and has accumulated 936 assists this year, which is 24th in basketball in terms of passing. They turn the ball over 14.7 times per contest and as a basketball team they commit 18.2 personal fouls every game. On defense, the Thunder are forcing their opponents into 13.1 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 18.3 personal fouls. They concede 34.9% on 3-point attempts and they are ranked 17th in the NBA in PPG allowed (112.2). The Thunder defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 46.5% (537 of 752) and they concede 47.7 rebounds per contest as a group. They are ranked 17th in basketball in giving up assists to their opponents with 1,013 conceded on the campaign.

The last time they took the hardwood, the Houston Rockets took a loss by a final score of 113-100 against the Detroit Pistons. The Rockets corralled 31 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive boards for a total of 38 in this game. They also coughed up the ball 13 times, while recording 7 steals for this contest. The Pistons committed 17 personal fouls in the matchup which got the Rockets to the free throw line for 16 attempts. They were able to make 13 of the free throws for a clip of 81.3%. When it comes to shooting from beyond the arc, Houston knocked down 9 of their 32 tries (28.1%). When the game finished, the Rockets went 39 for 88 from the field which gave them a percentage of 44.3%. The Rockets allowed the Pistons to convert 37 of their 85 tries from the floor which gave them a percentage of 43.5% in this game. They went 48.3% from downtown by shooting 14 out of 29 and ended up shooting 25 out of 28 at the free throw line (89.3%). In the matter of cleaning up the glass, Houston permitted Detroit to snag 49 overall (12 on the offensive side).

John Wall ended up being a factor for the Rockets in this matchup. He made 7 out of 16 in the game for a field goal percentage of 43.8%, and totaled 3 rebounds. Wall earned 21 points in his 28:33 minutes on the court and earned 7 assists in this contest. Someone else that was important for Houston was Victor Oladipo. He wrapped the game up with 4 dimes in his 36:12 minutes played, and he shot 7 out of 18 from the floor. Oladipo ended up shooting 38.9% from the floor in addition to totaling 19 points and 3 boards.

Houston has a win-loss record of 11-29 so far this year. On the offensive side of the ball, the Rockets are hitting on 43.3% from the field, which is ranked 29th in the league. Houston has accumulated 4,269 pts this season (106.7 per game) and they grab 42.4 rebounds per contest. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 22.1 times per contest (28th in the NBA) and they turn it over 14.6 times per contest. The Rockets have committed 20.0 fouls per game and they go 74.1% from the charity stripe. The Rockets on the defensive end are ranked 23rd in the league in points per game surrendered with 113.7. They have forced 15.5 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 46.9% from the field (19th in basketball). The Houston defense concedes 37.7% on three-point shots (506 of 1,342) and their opposition knocks down 78.3% of their foul shots. They concede 24.2 assists and 48.4 boards per contest, ranking them 11th and 29th in the league.

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Houston (-2)

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