San Antonio Spurs +6.5 (-105) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder<\/p>\n
In today\u2019s betting preview for Game 1<\/a>, I shared why I like the Spurs as underdogs on Monday night:\u00a0<\/p>\n How much weight can we put into the regular season when it comes to this matchup?\u00a0<\/p>\n The Spurs had OKC\u2019s number, winning three games outright as underdogs while going 4-1 overall in five regular-season meetings. So, getting them as 6.5-point underdogs seems pretty favorable in Game 1.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Thunder did have a commanding win in their final meeting (where most of the rotation players suited up), but I still think there is a case for this San Antonio team that just blitzed Minnesota to end the Western Conference semis.\u00a0<\/p>\n There\u2019s always the \u201cRest vs. Rust\u201d question entering a series like this, though the Thunder had a similar situation in the second round and came out strong against the Lakers in Game 1.\u00a0<\/p>\n Still, I think the Thunder showed in the second round that a team can hang around if they take SGA out of things on offense. Los Angeles led at half in two of the four games, and had it been a deeper team (like San Antonio is) it may have been able to steal one of those games. Plus, the Lakers were operating without their best offensive player in Luka Doncic.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Spurs are well-equipped (at least better than the Lakers) to handle the SGA challenge, and they have the Defensive Player of the Year (Wemby) protecting everything at the rim.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not going to say that the Spurs will pull off an upset, but San Antonio was 10-5 against the spread as a road underdog in the regular season, and it had a top-three offensive, defensive and net rating.\u00a0<\/p>\n Oklahoma City has been pretty dominant at home (34-7 in the regular season, 4-0 in the playoffs). When it comes to the betting side of things, the Thunder are a little more vulnerable than you\u2019d expect at home. They have covered the spread in just 21 of 44 games as a home favorite.\u00a0<\/p>\n I don\u2019t mind taking the points at this line in Game 1. <\/p>\n Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.<\/p>\n If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.<\/p>\n Claim the latest\u00a0DraftKings promo code<\/a>\u00a0offer today. Sign up and get\u00a0$100 in bonus bets instantly when you make your first $5 bet<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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