Cleveland Cavaliers vs Oklahoma City Thunder Prediction, 1/27/2023 Preview and Pick

Game: Cleveland Cavaliers vs Oklahoma City Thunder

Date: Friday, January 27, 2023

Location: Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, OK

TV: Bally Sports Oklahoma

Odds/Point Spread: Cleveland (-1)

Paycom Center is where the Oklahoma City Thunder will play the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday. Cleveland opens this matchup as 1-point favorites from oddsmakers. The total has been set at 230.

The Cavaliers stepped onto the hardwood against the Knicks and took a loss by a score of 105-103 in their last game. Cleveland walked away from the contest having earned a 46.0% FG percentage (40 of 87) and converted 12 of their 33 3-pointers. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Cavaliers buried 11 of 16 shots for a percentage of 68.8%. In regard to hauling in boards, they earned a total of 41 with 10 of them being offensive. They also distributed 29 dimes for the matchup while forcing the other team into 15 turnovers and having 8 steals. Pertaining to defense, Cleveland allowed the other team to shoot 49.3% from the floor on 37 out of 75 shooting. New York dished out 25 assists and had 4 steals in the game. On top of that, New York snagged 42 rebounds (9 offensive, 33 defensive) and had 4 blocked shots. New York finished shooting 66.7% at the free throw line by knocking down 14 of 21 tries. They also buried 17 out of their 33 attempts from distance. In reference to fouls, the Cavaliers ended up with 19 and the Knicks had 18 fouls.

Jarrett Allen is one guy who was a major contributor in this matchup. Allen finished shooting 70.6% from the field and also recorded 1 assist. He played for 39 mins and totaled 12 rebounds. He ended up scoring 24 points on 12 out of 17 shooting.

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Cleveland will enter this game with a mark of 29-20 on the season. They cough up possession 14.1 times per game and as a squad they commit 18.8 fouls every game. As a unit, Cleveland is snagging 42.4 rebounds per contest and is sitting with 1,177 assists on the year, which is 20th in the league in terms of passing the rock. The Cavaliers are shooting 36.3% on 3-point shots (559 of 1,541) and 77.7% from the free throw line. They average 111.5 points per contest (26th in the league) while connecting on 48.4% from the field.

Defensively, the Cavaliers are able to force 14.9 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 21.2 personal fouls. They rank 4th in the league in allowing assists to the opposition with 1,116 surrendered on the season. The Cavaliers defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 46.6% (1,918 of 4,115) and they surrender 40.0 rebounds per contest as a unit. They are giving up 37.2% on shots from downtown and they rank 1st in the league in points per game allowed (107.2).

In their last game, the Thunder walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 137-132 when they played the Hawks. With respect to how they attacked the glass, Oklahoma City allowed Atlanta to snag 46 in total (11 offensive). They wrapped up this game 37.9% from 3-point land via 11 out of 29 and ended up going 26 out of 33 at the charity stripe (78.8%). The Thunder allowed the Hawks to knock down 50 out of their 84 attempts from the floor which gave them a rate of 59.5% for this contest. When the game finished, the Thunder went 53 for 102 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 52.0%. With regard to shots from 3-point land, Oklahoma City buried 15 out of 34 attempts (44.1%). They were able to knock down 11 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 68.8%. The Hawks earned 16 personal fouls for the contest which took the Thunder to the free throw line for a total of 16 attempts. They gave up possession of the ball 11 times, while recording 12 steals for this game. The Thunder were able to corral 25 defensive rebounds and 12 offensive boards totaling 37 for the game.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was important for the Thunder in this game. Gilgeous-Alexander tallied 36 points in his 36 minutes on the court and added 7 assists in the matchup. He buried 13 of 22 in this matchup for a field goal rate of 59.1%, and earned 5 rebounds.

Oklahoma City has a record of 23-25 so far this year. When it comes to executing on offense, the Thunder are shooting 46.7% from the floor, which ranks them 21st in the league. Oklahoma City has scored 5,611 points for the campaign (116.9 per contest) and they collect 44.1 boards per contest. They are earning an assist 24.6 times per contest (18th in the league) and they are turning it over 13.7 times per game. The Thunder commit 21.9 fouls every game while shooting 79.2% from the charity stripe.

The Thunder on the defensive side of the court are 20th in basketball in PPG given up with 116.0. They are forcing their opponents into 16.8 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 46.5% from the floor (6th in the league). The Oklahoma City defense allows 35.4% on three-point shots (603 of 1,701) and opponents are knocking down 78.3% of their free throw attempts. They have relinquished 24.9 dimes and 47.4 total rebounds per game, which has them ranked 12th and 30th in the NBA.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Oklahoma City (+1)

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