Wednesday’s 14-game NBA slate has two marquee matchups, but the one in Oklahoma City might be the most interesting for pick’em players. A banged-up Thunder team hosts James Harden, Donovan Mitchell and the Cavaliers at 8 p.m. ET, and the injury report changes everything about how to attack it. Underdog is offering new users promo code FOXNEWS to play $10 and get $50 in bonus entries.
Oklahoma City’s depth is being tested early. The Thunder’s injury report is long and loaded with rotation players: Jalen Williams is out with a fractured ankle, Chet Holmgren is out with knee tendinitis, and Cason Wallace is sidelined with a torn labrum in his shoulder. Nikola Topic and Thomas Sorber are also out after surgeries. That’s a starting-caliber wing, the team’s starting big and one of its best perimeter defenders all missing at once.
The good news for OKC is that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is still the reigning MVP, and the Thunder built one of the deepest rosters in the league for exactly this kind of stretch. The Thunder have also dominated this matchup recently, beating Cleveland in both meetings last season, including a 136-104 blowout in January.
Cleveland arrives with one of the best scoring backcourts in the NBA. Harden and Mitchell are two of the most dangerous creators in the league, and they’re still figuring out how to share the ball. Against a Thunder team missing Holmgren’s rim protection and Wallace’s on-ball defense, the Cavs should find plenty of room to work. That’s why the books have Oklahoma City as just a 2.5-point favorite at home, a small number for a team with the reigning MVP. That says a lot about how much the injuries matter.
Odds are subject to change
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander points (higher): With Williams and Holmgren out, OKC’s offense runs through Gilgeous-Alexander even more than usual. He’s going to get every big possession, and against a Cleveland team still sorting out its defensive identity, his scoring line is the first place to start.
James Harden assists (higher): Harden’s job in Cleveland is to set the table, and the Thunder’s injuries take away two of their best defenders. Expect him to probe a thinner OKC defense and find Mitchell and the Cavs’ bigs all night.
Donovan Mitchell points (higher): If Harden is running the offense, Mitchell gets to play off the ball, which is where he does a lot of his damage. Without Wallace hounding him, he should get clean looks.
The night opens at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN with LeBron James, Tyrese Maxey and the 76ers in Detroit against Cade Cunningham. It’s a rematch of an Oct. 25 meeting between two of the East’s top contenders. Mavericks at Spurs closes the ESPN doubleheader at 9:30 p.m. ET.
A short-handed Thunder team, a new-look Cavs backcourt and 12 more games around it. Play $10 on Cavs-Thunder, 76ers-Pistons or any NBA game tonight with Underdog promo code FOXNEWS and get $50 in bonus entries.