For the first time in NBA history, two teams on 10-plus-game winning streaks will face off when the 30-5 Oklahoma City Thunder, winners of 15 straight, travel to the shores of Lake Erie for a nationally-televised matchup against the 31-4 Cleveland Cavaliers at 7 p.m. ET. The Cavaliers, who have won each of their last 10 games, are currently on pace to tie the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors with a 73-9 record, and the Thunder could join the 70-win club as well.
Needless to say, it’s a possible NBA Finals preview and arguably the most highly-anticipated matchup of the season so far. With both teams sporting mostly-healthy lineups — only Oklahoma City guard Alex Caruso and center Chet Holmgren have been ruled out among regular rotation players — tonight should live up to its billing.
While the attention — rightfully — on the Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, power forward Jalen Williams has been a crucial piece of the team’s success. The third-year forward is a serious contender to make his first career All-Star game, averaging 20.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 1.8 steals per game.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, Oklahoma City is a 2.5-point underdog and the point total is set to 230. Below, I’ve highlighted my favorite prop bet centered around Williams.
Best Jalen Williams Prop Bets on DraftKings Sportsbook
Jalen Williams U20.5 Points (-120)
As the Thunder have gotten healthier, less has been asked of Williams as a scorer. Oklahoma City simply has too many mouths to feed, and Gilgeous-Alexander has seen a slight uptick to his scoring, averaging a career-high 31.3 points per game. As a result, Williams’ usage rate has dropped slightly, from 27.8% in his first 27 games to 25.5% in his last eight. Across that eight-game stretch, he hasn’t scored more than 20 points in any game, putting up just 42-21-67 shooting splits.
I don’t think Williams will be a huge priority against a pretty good Cavaliers unit that has the eighth-best defensive rating in basketball, allowing 109.8 points per 100 possessions. Plus, Cleveland isn’t a great matchup for him, since Cavaliers power forward Evan Mobley is a former Defensive Player of the Year finalist who ranks 20th in defensive win shares this season. Williams might have a better time if reserve forward Isaac Okoro, a strong perimeter defender in his own right, can’t return from the shoulder injury that has held him out for the last few weeks. Still, with Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland both net-negative defenders, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault would be better off running his offense through Gilgeous-Alexander, not Williams.
Jalen Williams U1.5 Three-Pointers Made (-110)
Although Williams has basically improved across the board from his 2023-24 season, his three-point shooting efficiency has slumped. Last season, he drained 42.7% of his attempts from beyond the arc, the sixth-best efficiency among 123 players to appear in at least 65 games and attempt at least three three-pointers per game. This year, he’s shooting just 35.2% from deep, the 93rd-best percentage among 153 players to appear in 80% of their team’s games and hoist three three-point attempts per game. Across his current eight-game shooting slump, he’s only made more than one three-pointer once.
Cleveland has emphasized shutting down the three-ball this season, and opposing players attempt just 36.8 threes per game, the eighth-lowest rate in the league. Although they’ve gone in 36.4% of the time, the ninth-highest percentage in basketball, that’s largely a function of bad shooting luck, as opponents shoot 0.7 percentage points better than usual against the Cavaliers. Cleveland allows open or wide-open threes — the most efficient shots in the game — at below-average rates.
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All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook, lines and odds subject to change.
I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skills and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
