Oklahoma City Thunder vs Toronto Raptors Prediction, 3/22/2024 Preview and Pick

Game: Oklahoma City Thunder vs Toronto Raptors

Date: Friday, March 22, 2024

Location: Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, ON

TV: TSN

Scotiabank Arena is the location where the Toronto Raptors (23-46) will try to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder (48-20) on Friday.

The Thunder stepped onto the hardwood against the Jazz and walked away with a win by a score of 119-107 in their last contest. Oklahoma City walked away from the contest with a 48.9% field goal percentage (43 out of 88) and converted 10 out of their 34 shots from downtown. At the charity stripe, the Thunder buried 23 of 29 attempts for a rate of 79.3%. With respect to hauling in rebounds, they earned 45 with 10 of them being of the offensive variety. They also recorded 29 assists in this matchup as well as creating 15 turnovers and earning 10 steals. In terms of defending, Oklahoma City allowed the other team to shoot 44.4% from the floor on 40 out of 90 shooting. Utah distributed 20 dimes and had 6 steals in this game. Additionally, Utah pulled down 47 boards (11 offensive, 36 defensive) and added 7 blocked shots. Utah shot 94.4% at the free throw line by converting 17 of their 18 attempts. They knocked down 10 of 36 tries from distance. Regarding fouls, the Thunder ended up finishing with 16 while the Jazz racked up 22 fouls.

Chet Holmgren is one guy who was a major factor for the game. Holmgren finished the game shooting 66.7% from the field and also earned 1 assist. He played for 31 mins played and also collected 14 boards. He ended up finishing with 35 points on 12 out of 18 shooting.

Get all of our NBA Picks Tonight

Oklahoma City comes into this matchup with a mark of 48-20 for the season. They lose possession by turning the ball over 12.4 times per contest and as a basketball team they commit 19.2 fouls every game. As a team, Oklahoma City is snagging 41.8 rebounds per game and has accounted for 1,831 dimes for the campaign, which is 14th in the league in terms of passing. The Thunder are hitting 39.2% on shots from downtown (912 of 2,325) and 83.1% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 120.7 points per contest (3rd in the league) while going 50.0% from the floor.

Defensively, the Thunder are able to force 15.7 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 19.0 fouls. They are currently ranked 15th in the league in allowing assists to the opposition with 1,827 relinquished for the campaign. The Thunder are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 45.4% (2,757 of 6,070) and they relinquish 44.8 rebounds per game as a team. They give up 36.4% on 3-point attempts and they rank 13th in the NBA in points per game from their opponents (113.0).

In their last game, the Raptors took a loss by a score of 123-89 when they played the Kings. The Raptors earned 20 defensive rebounds and 11 offensive rebounds for a total of 31 in this matchup. They also coughed up the ball 21 times, while recording 11 steals in the matchup. The Kings were called for 16 fouls for this contest which took the Raptors to the charity stripe for 18 tries. They were able to make 13 of the free throw attempts for a clip of 72.2%. In relation to 3-point shots, Toronto converted 10 out of 31 attempts (32.3%). When the final whistle blew, the Raptors ended up shooting 33 out of 80 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 41.3%. The Raptors allowed the Kings to make 48 out of their 93 tries from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 51.6% in the game. They finished the game shooting 30.0% from downtown via 12 out of 40 and finished the game at 15 of 18 at the free throw line (83.3%). When discussing cleaning the glass, Toronto allowed Sacramento to collect 53 overall (18 on the offensive glass).

Gary Trent Jr. was important for the Raptors for the game. Trent totaled 18 points in his 32 mins of playing time and had 2 assists in this matchup. He knocked down 6 out of 17 in this contest for a rate of 35.3%, and tallied 6 rebounds.

Toronto has a win-loss mark of 23-46 this year. The Raptors commit 18.3 personal fouls every game and they hit 74.7% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 29.0 times per contest (5th in basketball) and they are giving up possession 13.6 times per game. Toronto has accounted for 7,818 pts on the campaign (113.3 per game) and they pull in 43.2 boards per game. When it comes to offensive execution, the Raptors are connecting on 47.4% from the field, which is 16th in the league.

The Raptors on the defensive side of the court are 24th in basketball in points per game surrendered with 118.1. They are forcing 13.8 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 48.8% from the floor (23rd in the NBA). The Toronto defense concedes 37.5% on shots from distance (923 of 2,462) and their opponents are converting on 79.6% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have given up 28.4 dimes and 45.0 rebounds per contest, ranking them 27th and 25th in the league.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Toronto

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here