The NBA wraps up a solid six-game schedule on Saturday with a big Western Conference matchup on ABC between the Golden State Warriors and the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Paycom Center in OKC. Both these teams are dealing with injuries and battling for playoff spots, and each side has some compelling storylines to track the rest of the season. Both teams bring plenty of interesting player prop bets to build around on this slate as well, so let’s dive into the many markets available and find a few Warriors-Thunder bets to consider for Saturday night.
In the bigger picture of the matchup, the Thunder are heavy 14.5-point home favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook, with the game total set at 219.5 points.
The Thunder are at the top of the Western Conference at 49-15, while the Warriors are currently eighth at 32-30. OKC has won four straight since the return of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander from injury and are 9-2 in their last 11. The Warriors beat the Rockets in overtime on Thursday to snap a two-game losing streak and are just 5-8 in their last 13 games.
Looking at the injury report, the Warriors will be without Steph Curry, De’Anthony Melton, Seth Curry, and Moses Moody, but Kristaps Porzingis and Will Richard are each questionable. The Thunder listed Alex Caruso, Isaiah Hartenstein, Ajay Mitchell and Jalen Williams as out, and they made a late addition on Saturday afternoon, ruling Chet Holmgren out as well, due to illness.
Warriors at Thunder Best Prop Bets
Jaylin Williams o12.5 Points (-101)
Williams will most likely start in place of Hartenstein, and the 23-year-old from Arkansas has shown a high ceiling when he gets extra minutes. He finished with only eight points in the game that Hartenstein left early on Wednesday, but he didn’t see a ton of extra minutes with only 18 minutes total in that game.
He played 33 minutes the night before against the Bulls and had a monster game with 17 points and 16 rebounds. He also played over 25 minutes in two other games since the All-Star break with 12 points against the Nuggets and 30 points in a spot start against the Pistons.
In his nine starts this season, he has averaged 10.6 points per game, and he has scored double-digit points in five straight games in which he has played at least 20 minutes. He played 30 minutes against the Warriors with 12 points in their first meeting this year, but only had one point the last time he faced them.
This time around, without both Chet and Hartenstein, Williams should be set for another huge game since he’ll be asked to carry so much of the workload Saturday night.
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Brandin Podziemski o6.5 Rebounds (-105)
The Warriors’ rotation is a little shaky to figure out with the questionable players, but Podziemski has been a beast on the boards lately, and he should continue to get plenty of playing time even if Porzingis is ready to re-enter the rotation.
He’s only averaging 5.2 rebounds per game on the season, but he has gone over this prop line in each of his seven games since the All-Star break, averaging an impressive 9.7 rebounds per contest. Against the Rockets on Thursday, he had nine rebounds to go with his 26 points.
With Curry, Melton and Moody all out, Pod Racer will need to pick up the scoring as well, but his shooting has been streaky this season, while his rebounding has been steady enough lately to make this my preferred play, especially at plus-money odds.
Isaiah Joe o15.5 Points + Rebounds (-103)
Joe is another member of the Thunder who should get more work without Holmgren and Hartenstein. He’s averaging 13.5 points plus rebounds this season, but he has gone over this prop line in nine of his last 12 games, with at least 18 points plus rebounds in each of those nine games. He was helping to cover for SGA in most of those games, but he will be one of the team’s top offensive options alongside SGA in this contest.
On Wednesday against the Knicks, he only had four points and two boards in 24 minutes, but he had 19 points the night before in Chicago.
The Thunder have lots of interchangeable pieces on the wing with Joe, Cason Wallace, Lu Dort and Aaron Wiggins all in the mix. Joe brings the most offensive firepower of the bunch, though, which is why I’m targeting his points and rebounds as one of my top player props in Saturday’s matchup.
Bonus Parlay Pick: Pat Spencer o7.5 Rebounds + Assists (-113)
If you’re building an SGP (Same Game Parlay) from this Saturday night showcase, one way to boost the odds even higher is by adding the over on Spencer’s rebounds and assists. Adding that to the mix boosts the four props in this post all the way up to +1300 for these four Warriors-Thunder bets.
Spencer will likely move back into the starting lineup with Melton out, returning to a more involved spot after his role shrank for his last couple of contests. He went over this prop line in six of his previous nine games before playing fewer minutes in the last two games. He had nine assists and two rebounds to go well over this prop in his most recent game with 30+minutes. He went over this prop line in six of his last seven games with 25+ minutes and should be able to work his way over this prop with a larger workload on Saturday night, even in a tough matchup against the Thunder.
