Oklahoma City Thunder vs Cleveland Cavaliers Prediction, 1/8/2025 Preview and Pick

Game: Oklahoma City Thunder vs Cleveland Cavaliers

Date: Wednesday, January 8, 2025

Location: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, OH

TV: FanDuel Sports Network

The Oklahoma City Thunder (30-5) are on their way to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Wednesday where they will take on the Cleveland Cavaliers (31-4).

The Thunder faced the Celtics and walked away with a win by a score of 105-92 in their last contest. Oklahoma City ended the game having earned a 44.8% field goal percentage (39 out of 87) and converted 16 of their 38 shots from downtown. At the charity stripe, the Thunder made 11 of their 13 attempts for a rate of 84.6%. In relation to grabbing boards, they compiled a total of 46 with 9 of them being of the offensive variety. They also doled out 22 assists for this contest as well as creating 16 turnovers and earning 11 steals. In terms of the defense, Oklahoma City allowed 36.5% from the field on 31 of 85 shooting. Boston recorded 17 assists and had 6 steals for the game. Additionally, Boston grabbed 48 boards (12 offensive, 36 defensive) and had 6 rejections. Boston ended up shooting 87.5% from the free throw line by converting 21 of their 24 tries. They also knocked down 9 of their 46 attempts from beyond the perimeter. Concerning personal fouls, the Thunder walked away with 18 and the Celtics totaled 18 personal fouls.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a player who was a contributor for the game. Gilgeous-Alexander went 47.8% from the floor and also recorded 6 dimes. He played 39 mins played and also collected 11 rebounds. He ended up finishing with 33 points on 11 out of 23 shooting.

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Oklahoma City comes into this matchup with a win-loss mark of 30-5 for the year. They average 115.1 points per game (11th in basketball) while hitting 46.8% from the field. The Thunder are hitting 35.1% on 3-pointers (474 of 1,351) and 81.4% from the free throw line. As a unit, Oklahoma City is grabbing 43.7 boards per game and has 902 assists so far this year, which is 18th in basketball in terms of passing the ball. They cough up possession 11.9 times per contest and as a group they commit 20.1 fouls per game.

On the defensive end of the court, the Thunder are forcing their opponents into 18.8 turnovers per contest and they draw 17.9 fouls. They give up 32.7% on three-point shots and they are 1st in the NBA in PPG allowed (103.0). The Thunder defense is allowing a FG percentage of 42.6% (1,270 of 2,983) and they concede 47.3 rebounds per game as a team. They are ranked 2nd in the league in giving up assists to the opposition with 829 surrendered so far this year.

When they last stepped on the court, the Cavaliers walked away with a victory by a final of 115-105 when they played the Hornets. When discussing attacking the glass, Cleveland allowed Charlotte to pull down 48 in total (13 on the offensive side). They finished shooting 35.7% from downtown by connecting on 15 of 42 and finished the game at 14 out of 19 from the charity stripe (73.7%). The Cavaliers permitted the Hornets to make 38 of 91 attempts from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 41.8% for this game. When the final whistle blew, the Cavaliers ended up shooting 44 for 92 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 47.8%. Pertaining to 3-point shots, Cleveland buried 15 of their 43 tries (34.9%). They were able to convert 12 of those for a clip of 75.0%. The Hornets committed 18 fouls in this contest which took the Cavaliers to the free throw line for a total of 16 attempts. They also turned the ball over 12 times, while getting 5 steals for the game. The Cavaliers were able to pull down 32 defensive boards and 9 offensive rebounds totaling 41 for the game.

Darius Garland was important for the Cavaliers for the contest. He made 8 out of 14 for this game giving him a field goal percentage of 57.1%, and had 3 rebounds. Garland recorded 25 points in his 29 minutes on the court and totaled 2 dimes in this contest.

Cleveland has a win-loss mark of 31-4 this season. As an offense, the Cavaliers are shooting 50.4% from the floor, which ranks 1st in the league. Cleveland has scored 4,287 points for the season (122.5 per game) and they collect 43.8 rebounds per game. They are earning an assist 29.1 times per contest (5th in the league) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 13.0 times per game. The Cavaliers commit 18.4 fouls per game and they connect on 77.5% from the charity stripe.

The Cavaliers on the defensive side of the court are 9th in the league in points allowed per contest with 110.7. They are forcing 15.5 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 45.0% from the field (4th in basketball). The Cleveland defense surrenders 36.4% on 3-point attempts (468 of 1,287) and their opponents are knocking down 78.9% of their foul shots. They surrender 25.2 assists and 44.1 total rebounds per game, which ranks 6th and 16th in the NBA.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Oklahoma City

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