Washington Wizards vs Oklahoma City Thunder Prediction, 2/23/2024 Preview and Pick

Game: Washington Wizards vs Oklahoma City Thunder

Date: Friday, February 23, 2024

Location: Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, OK

TV: Bally Sports Oklahoma

The Washington Wizards (9-45) are en route to Paycom Center on Friday where they will play the Oklahoma City Thunder (37-17).

The Wizards faced off with the Pelicans and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 133-126 in their last contest. Concerning personal fouls, the Wizards finished with 22 and the Pelicans accumulated 21 personal fouls. They converted 10 of their 32 attempts from downtown. New Orleans walked away from this one shooting 79.3% from the free throw line by converting 23 of 29 attempts. In addition, New Orleans pulled down 39 rebounds (8 offensive, 31 defensive) and earned 3 rejections. New Orleans doled out 36 assists and had 14 steals for the game. In reference to defending, Washington let their opponent shoot 56.2% from the floor on 50 of 89 shooting. They also recorded 35 assists in this contest as well as forcing 10 turnovers and having 7 steals. With regard to grabbing rebounds, they collected 42 with 15 of them being offensive. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Wizards made 17 of 20 attempts for a percentage of 85.0%. Washington walked away from the contest with a 47.8% FG percentage (44 of 92) and converted 21 out of their 45 shots from beyond the arc.

Deni Avdija is someone who played a role for this contest. He left the arena with 43 points on 13 of 24 shooting. He played 40 minutes played and also snagged 15 boards. Avdija finished the game shooting 54.2% from the floor and also recorded 3 dimes.

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Washington comes into this one with a win-loss record of 9-45 for the season. They are turning it over 13.9 times per game and as a team are committing 20.2 fouls every game. As a team, Washington is pulling in 40.7 boards per game and has totaled 1,518 dimes so far this season, which has them ranked 9th in the NBA in terms of passing the rock. The Wizards are connecting on 35.1% on shots from distance (656 of 1,871) and 76.8% from the free throw line. They have an average of 114.8 pts per game (16th in basketball) while shooting 47.4% from the field.

On the defensive end, the Wizards have forced 14.5 turnovers per contest while drawing 18.4 personal fouls. They are giving up 36.8% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they rank 29th in basketball in PPG allowed (123.9). The Wizards are allowing a field goal percentage of 49.7% (2,502 of 5,036) and they concede 49.3 rebounds per contest as a team. They rank 29th in the league in allowing assists with 1,607 surrendered so far this year.

When they last stepped on the court, the Thunder went home victorious with a score of 127-113 against the Magic. Regarding cleaning up the glass, Oklahoma City allowed Orlando to pull down 48 in total (14 offensive). They wrapped up this game 30.6% from 3-point land by going 11 out of 36 and walked away from this one shooting 20 of 25 from the free throw line (80.0%). The Thunder permitted the Magic to knock down 41 of 91 attempts from the floor which gave them a percentage of 45.1% for the matchup. When the final whistle was blown, the Thunder ended up shooting 46 for 84 from the field which gave them a rate of 54.8%. Regarding shooting from beyond the arc, Oklahoma City made 13 of their 32 tries (40.6%). They were able to bury 22 of the free throws for a percentage of 91.7%. The Magic committed 19 personal fouls in this matchup which took the Thunder to the charity stripe for 24 attempts. They turned the ball over 11 times, while recording 9 steals for this game. The Thunder pulled down 27 defensive boards and 4 offensive rebounds for a total of 31 in the matchup.

Jalen Williams was important for the Thunder for this contest. He knocked down 12 out of 18 in this contest giving him a field goal percentage of 66.7%, and tallied 2 rebounds. Williams earned 33 points in his 35 minutes on the court and accumulated 3 assists in the game.

Oklahoma City has a mark of 37-17 for the season. The Thunder are committing 19.5 personal fouls per contest while shooting 83.2% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 27.3 times per game (11th in the NBA) and they lose possession via turnover 12.5 times per game. Oklahoma City has scored 6,524 pts for the season (120.8 per contest) and they average 41.1 boards per game. As an offense, the Thunder are shooting 50.0% from the field, which has them ranked 2nd in the league.

The Thunder on defense are ranked 13th in the league in points allowed per contest with 113.6. They are forcing their opponents into 15.6 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 45.3% from the floor (3rd in the NBA). The Oklahoma City defense gives up 36.4% on 3-point attempts (733 of 2,016) and their opposition makes 78.7% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have surrendered 27.1 assists and 45.1 rebounds on a nightly basis, which ranks 19th and 26th in the NBA.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Oklahoma City

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