JEFF ALLEN GAME PREVIEW: OKLAHOMA CITY at GOLDEN STATE GAME ONE
Conference final action begins tonight at the Oklahoma City Thunder take on the Golden State Warriors at The Oracle
in Oakland, California. San Antonio/Golden State was supposed to be one of the most highly anticipated series in NBA
history but someone forgot to tell the Thunder who dominated the Spurs the final five games of that series and ultimately
winning in six. There has been a lot of series play on Oklahoma City who opened as a +450 dog which has dropped to
+330/+350 depending on house. The game line at this writing Golden State -7.5 with the total pretty much 223 everywhere.
This was a hugely important year for Oklahoma City with the impending free agency of Kevin Durant. A quick exit from the
playoffs would have almost assuredly sent “The Durantula” elsewhere but a win or strong showing against the Warriors
might at least lock No.35 up for a short term deal that would at least allow him to finish his run with Russell Westbrook.
The Thunder dynamic duo came up big vs. the Spurs and both players (Durant 27.4, 6.5, 4.3 … Westbrook 25.8, 6.8, 10.8
in the playoffs) coming up big. In truth, it’s been the dynamic play of the OKC big men Steven Adams (10.2, 9.9) and Enes
Kanter (11.6, 7.3) that propelled the Thunder past San Antonio.
Golden State received multiple scares with a couple of minor injuries to the league’s first unanimous MVP Steph Curry who
has played in just four games (24.8, 5.2, 6.5) while battling knee and ankle problems. The Warriors have been off since last
Wednesday so No.30 should be good to go. Klay Thomson (27.2, 2.9, 3.2) has picked up his scoring when Curry was out
and Draymond Green (17.7, 10.4, 7.0) continues to establish himself as one of the top two way players in the game. Golden
State’s amazing bench allows Steve Kerr to go 10-11 deep if he has to and every player seemingly contributes something
when called upon.
Golden State has won six of the last seven in the series and five straight on this floor. The over is 6-4 in the L10 with under
2-1 this year despite the games producing 224, 239 and 226 points. Golden State has won it’s L6 home games going 5-1
ATS while the Thunder have won four of their L5 road games. Tonight’s game and the series may very well be determined
by which team can rebound and enforce it’s will in the paint. If Durant/Westbrook are able to play Curry/Thompson somewhat
even then it will come down the Adams/Kanter vs. Green/Bogut/Speights/Ezeli and possible Andre Iguodala in a pinch. Edge
OKC. Serge Ibaka could be an X-factor, especially if he is knocking down his mid-range jumper. The Thunder are not as deep
but do have role players like Randy Foye and Dion Waiters. This figures to be a hard fought series that could go a full seven
games especially if OKC can get a split in Oakland.
World Champion Handicapper Jeff Allen has won five straight NBA playoff releases and is 12-4 over his L16. You can find all
Jeff Allen plays at his home site of www.vegasscoresandodds.com.