NBA Betting Picks: Oklahoma City Thunder vs Cleveland Cavaliers Lines and Best Bets on January 16

More than a week since their first encounter, the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Cleveland Cavaliers will run it back as they cross paths this Thursday at the Paycom Center.

(Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images)

“Cleveland drew first blood in their season series with a 129-122 victory against Oklahoma City last week thanks to a total team effort that saw seven Cavaliers hit the double-digit mark.”

  • Unlike their first matchup, the Thunder heads into this matchup versus the Cavaliers as the slight 2.5-point favorite as per the latest Oklahoma City Thunder vs Cleveland Cavaliers betting lines.
  • This has a lot to do with Oklahoma City’s impressive record in front of their adoring fans, going 17-3 (win-loss) at home this season.
  • Cleveland, however, is no pushover away from home, having covered the spread 15 times in their 23 road games this year.

Will the Cavaliers carry its winning momentum from last week to make it 2-0 versus the Thunder this season or will combo guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the rest of Oklahoma City have something to say?

As of press time, here’s how the current Oklahoma City Thunder vs Cleveland Cavaliers odds look like as we head into another marquee matchup between two of the league’s top dogs.

Oklahoma City Thunder vs Cleveland Cavaliers DraftKings NBA Odds for January 16

Moneyline

  • Oklahoma City Thunder: -142
  • Cleveland Cavaliers: +120

Spread

  • Oklahoma City Thunder: -2.5 (-110)
  • Cleveland Cavaliers: +2.5 (-110)

Over/Under (Total)

  • OVER 232 (-110)
  • UNDER 232 (-110)

Oklahoma City Thunder vs Cleveland Cavaliers Injury Report

Oklahoma City Thunder Injury Report

  1. Nikola Topic – Knee – Out
  2. Chet Holmgren – Hip – Out
  3. Ajay Mitchell – Foot – Out
  4. Adam Flagler – Hand – Out

Cleveland Cavaliers Injury Report

  1. Ty Jerome – Illness – Gametime Decision
  2. Emoni Bates – Knee – Out
  3. Luke Travers – Out

Best NBA Odds for Oklahoma City Thunder vs Cleveland Cavaliers

  • The Oklahoma City Thunder have beaten teams by an average margin of 27.3 points during its current three-game winning streak. The best Oklahoma City Thunder odds for the home team to cover the spread are available on BetMGM at -110.
  • The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Oklahoma City Thunder by seven in their first matchup despite coming in as a two-point favorite. Bet365 offers the best odds for the Cavaliers to win outright at +125.
  • The over total hit in the previous two encounters between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The best Oklahoma City Thunder vs Cleveland Cavaliers odds for the over total is available on DraftKings at -110.

Why will the Oklahoma City Thunder cover the spread?

Over a week since their loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Oklahoma City Thunder are back on the winning track once again, recording three straight victories, with the most recent being a 118-102 blowout win against the Philadelphia 76ers.

  • Combo guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander remains the engine that drives the Thunder offense, averaging 32.7 points, five assists, and 4.3 rebounds while making 60.3% of his attempts from the field.

The 26-year old Gilgeous-Alexander was also impressive against the Cavaliers last week, pouring in 31 points, five rebounds, and four assists though his efforts went to naught as they were unable to contain a fluid Cleveland offense.

Gilgeous-Alexander and the rest of the Thunder will have a chance to right their mistakes last week as they take on the same Cavaliers next and unlike their first meeting, they head into this matchup as the slight favorites and rightly so.

  • For context, Oklahoma City has only lost three times in 20 home games this season, having beaten teams by an average margin of 15.8 points.
  • Even more impressive is Thunder’s ability to cover the spread in front of their fans, having done so 14 times in 20 home games.

However, the Cavaliers are a different monster as they witnessed last week and for the Thunder to cover the spread, they will need to do plenty of things defensively but none more important than controlling the rebounding department.

In their previous encounter against Cleveland, Oklahoma City found themselves on the losing end of the rebounding battle, 40-38 and what’s even worse is they gave away 12 second chance opportunities.

Should the Thunder address their rebounding issues and tighten their defense, backing them to cover the spread and exact sweet revenge against the Cavaliers is an excellent play at -110 considering how they’ve performed at home this season.

Why will the Cleveland Cavaliers cover the spread?

After dropping a quick one to the Indiana Pacers on Sunday, the Cleveland Cavaliers exacted revenge on Tuesday as they beat the former 127-117 to return to its winning ways.

  • Athletic shooting guard Donovan Mitchell exploded for 35 points and nine rebounds while court general Darius Garland added 24 points and seven assists for the Cavaliers which battles a revenge-seeking Oklahoma City Thunder next.

Cleveland won their first matchup against Oklahoma City 129-122 though they are coming in as a slight underdog here as per the latest Cleveland Cavaliers vs Oklahoma City odds and that could play in their favor.

  • The Cavaliers are undefeated against the spread this season when bookmakers have them as an underdog, posting an impressive 3-0 slate.
  • If that’s not good enough, Cleveland also has a remarkable track record away from home, having covered the spread 13 times in 17 road games this season.

Even more encouraging is the return to form of Mitchell who was only limited to 11 points on a dismal 18% shooting from the field in their previous matchup with the Thunder.

Considering that the Cavaliers were still able to pull off the win against the Thunder despite Mitchell’s shooting woes, there could be value towards backing them to potentially win outright especially with the former dunk champion regaining his form.

Of course, beating the Thunder in front of their home fans has been a tough task as the defending champions Boston Celtics would attest to, meaning the Cavaliers would need to cut their turnovers and shoot better from the charity stripe than they did last time.

Final Oklahoma City Thunder vs Cleveland Cavaliers NBA Prediction: Cleveland Cavaliers ML +120

The Oklahoma City Thunder have rebounded in style from that earlier loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers by picking up three straight wins. With the Cavaliers just returning to the win column on Tuesday, one could argue that the momentum is on the side of the Thunder.

However, I am going out of the limb and picking the Cavaliers to pull off the upset victory over the Thunder on the road here. With high-flying guard Donovan Mitchell back in form and Cleveland having plenty of offensive weapons, I am just far more confident in the road team to get the job done here. Give me the Cavaliers to win outright.

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