Cleveland Cavaliers vs Oklahoma City Thunder Prediction, 1/16/2025 Preview and Pick

Game: Cleveland Cavaliers vs Oklahoma City Thunder

Date: Thursday, January 16, 2025

Location: Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, OK

TV: FanDuel Sports Network

The Cleveland Cavaliers (33-5) are headed to Paycom Center on Thursday where they will take on the Oklahoma City Thunder (32-6).

The Cavaliers faced off with the Pacers and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 108-93 in their last contest. Cleveland ended with a 39.8% field goal percentage (33 of 83) and buried 11 out of their 41 three-point shots. From the free throw line, the Cavaliers knocked down 16 of their 18 tries for a percentage of 88.9%. When talking about grabbing rebounds, they collected a total of 44 with 6 of them being offensive. They also recorded 24 assists in the game while creating 12 turnovers and getting 4 steals. With regard to the defense, Cleveland allowed 46.7% from the field on 43 of 92 shooting. Indiana totaled 30 assists and had 11 steals for the game. Furthermore, Indiana totaled 50 rebounds (9 offensive, 41 defensive) and had 5 blocked shots. Indiana finished the contest at 61.1% at the charity stripe by making 11 of their 18 attempts. They converted 11 out of their 35 tries from distance. In regard to fouls, the Cavaliers left the arena with 18 while the Pacers totaled 22 fouls.

Darius Garland is a guy who played a role in the matchup. He walked away with 20 points on 7 out of 16 shooting. He played 29 mins played and snagged 1 rebound. Garland shot 43.8% from the field and earned 7 assists.

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Cleveland enters this game with a mark of 33-5 so far this season. They turn it over 13.0 times per contest and as a squad they are committing 18.2 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Cleveland is collecting 43.7 rebounds per game and is sitting with 1,111 dimes for the year, which is 8th in the NBA in terms of passing the ball. The Cavaliers are shooting 40.1% on shots from beyond the arc (615 of 1,534) and 77.7% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 122.1 points per outing (2nd in the league) while hitting 50.2% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Cavaliers are able to force 15.3 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 18.8 personal fouls. They are giving up 36.4% on 3-point shots while they are 11th in the NBA in PPG allowed (111.3). The Cavaliers are allowing a FG percentage of 45.6% (1,553 of 3,404) and they surrender 43.9 boards per contest as a team. They rank 11th in basketball in allowing assists to their opponents with 980 conceded this season.

The last time they took the court, the Thunder got the win with a final of 136-95 against the Wizards. Concerning attacking the glass, Oklahoma City allowed Washington to pull down 39 in total (8 on the offensive glass). They finished 19.6% from three-point range by shooting 9 of 46 and finished the contest at 30 of 33 from the free throw line (90.9%). The Thunder allowed the Wizards to knock down 28 of 83 attempts from the field which had them sitting at 33.7% in the matchup. When this game wrapped up, the Thunder shot 45 for 95 from the floor which had them sitting at 47.4%. In terms of three-point attempts, Oklahoma City knocked down 13 of their 35 attempts (37.1%). They were able to convert 33 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 94.3%. The Wizards committed 23 personal fouls in the matchup which took the Thunder to the free throw line for 35 attempts. They also gave up possession 13 times, while getting 11 steals for the matchup. The Thunder earned 41 defensive rebounds and 15 offensive rebounds totaling 56 for the game.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was important for the Thunder for this contest. Gilgeous-Alexander tallied 27 points in his 30 mins of playing time and had 4 dimes in the game. He buried 5 of 17 in the matchup for a field goal rate of 29.4%, and tallied 7 rebounds.

Oklahoma City has a mark of 32-6 so far this year. As an offensive unit, the Thunder are connecting on 47.1% from the field, which has them ranked 11th in the NBA. Oklahoma City has accounted for 4,413 pts for the campaign (116.1 per contest) and they pull in 43.9 rebounds per game. They are getting an assist 25.9 times per contest (15th in the league) and they are giving up possession 12.0 times per contest. The Thunder commit 20.4 fouls per game and they hit 82.3% from the free throw line.

The Oklahoma City defense concedes 32.0% from downtown (465 of 1,451) and opponents are making 76.2% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have conceded 23.8 assists and 46.8 boards per contest, which is ranked 3rd and 28th in basketball. The Thunder are ranked 2nd in basketball in points allowed per contest with 103.4. They are forcing their opponents into 18.5 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 42.5% from the field (1st in the league).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Cleveland

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