
We've got just one game to look forward to this Sunday in the NBA with the Portland Trail Blazers coming in hot off a four-game winning streak to challenge the Oklahoma City Thunder at home.
Let's build a same-game parlay for Thunder vs Trail Blazers on Sunday, January 26 and lay out a few props that will work well as standalone straight bets as well.
DraftKings NBA Odds for Thunder vs Trail Blazers SGP: +430
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I'm admittedly not a huge fan of playing many offensive numbers here with the Thunder, given the lines aren't quite reflective enough of just how well this Trail Blazers team has performed on defense.
With that said, I do think Shai Gilgeous-Alexander should once again be in the clear to score the ball -- something he's done at a ridiculous clip of late.
The guard has averaged 29 points in two games against Portland this season, and will greet a team whose weakness has come just inside the arc with an 18th-ranked defense in the long mid-range.
That should aid SGA a bit, and as he often looks to get to the rim and scores well there he'll enjoy the fact that Portland is allowing shots to come from around the restricted area at one of the five highest clips in the game.
The Thunder will return Isaiah Hartenstein to the lineup on Sunday, but they'll be without Lu Dort on the wing -- a position we expect the defensive-minded Alex Caruso to fill.
What I'm looking at, however, is the best way to attack Portland in this category. It's turned the ball over at the third-highest clip in the league this month, while Oklahoma City has forced the most turnovers per 100 possessions.
My target is going to be Deni Avdija, who's averaged 4.5 turnovers of his own per 100 possessions this month as he continues to be the biggest liability for the home team in that area. With Caruso spending a lot of time defending Avdija at small forward, he should have no issues cashing this leg.
The other big injury nugget here comes on Portland's side, where the Trail Blazers are dealing with the absence of Deandre Ayton. It's actually going to work out quite well, however, as the exciting rookie has aided this team's interior defense with Ayton responsible for a roughly three-point increase in field goal percentage at the rim in his minutes.
While Oklahoma City will get Hartenstein back, he's unlikely to play much as one of the deepest teams in the league looks to ease him into action once again. Even with the big man in the lineup, though, there's not enough to overcome the rebounding prowess of Clingan considering this team ranks near the bottom in rebounding rate over the last few weeks.
Clingan should have no issues cashing this line, averaging around 18 points and rebounds as a starter, an he's also going to find life a bit easier here considering the Thunder rank 20th in rim defense this month and have given up the eighth-most looks in that area.
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