The NBA’s 10-game slate wraps up with a handful of contests in the late slate, but a Western Conference duel sets up a matchup between playoff teams. Tonight, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder head to the West Coast to duel a depleted Golden State Warriors squad. One side is utterly dominant; the other side simply used to be. Still, both of these teams could wind up facing off come postseason time and tonight’s game presents a unique opportunity for other names to step up in Golden State’s rotation.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, Oklahoma City is a -13.5 favorite with -675 odds to win on the Moneyline. The game total is set at 226.5 combined points.
Here are a couple of the best Thunder vs. Warriors prop bets on DraftKings Sportsbook for Friday’s outing.
Best Thunder vs. Warriors player prop bets
Chet Holmgren over 8.5 rebounds (-127)
The Thunder will continue to operate without starting center Isaiah Hartenstein, who’s put forth his best professional seasons with the team over the last year and a half. In his absence, Chet Holmgren is now sliding over to the five spot as the primary big man, meaning he must crash the glass at an even better rate than before. The 23-year-old is currently matching his career-best mark with 8.0 rebounds per game, and while Hartenstein’s presence does usually help clear the paint out, Holmgren’s playing well even without his frontcourt partner. He pulled down 10 rebounds in each of his last two games as the starting center, and going back a little further, he’s reached nine or more rebounds in four straight contests with totals of 12, nine, 10 and 10. It also helps his case that backup big man Jaylin Williams remains out with a heel issue, leaving the center rotation rather thin for minutes competition.
The opposing Warriors sit 20th in opponent rebounds allowed per game, 21st in REB%, and 20th in rebounds per contest themselves. The injury report also lists Draymond Green (rest) and Jimmy Butler (illness) as out tonight, meaning Golden State will lack two of its better presences on the glass. There won’t be a ton of competition for board beyond Quinten Post and Al Horford, so Holmgren can eat tonight and may very well reach double-digit rebounds for the fourth time in his last five appearances. Ladder this prop pick up a little bit.
Ajay Mitchell over 11.5 points (-107)
With the Warriors decimated without Steph Curry (ankle) as well, it’s pretty tough to discern who exactly will step up on their side. With that caveat, I’m personally looking toward another OKC player for these prop bets. People love to talk about the Thunder’s stars, but Ajay Mitchell’s surge to standout role player status has been one of the more intriguing stories in the NBA this season. The second-year guard averages career-highs of 14.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game so far and shows few signs of slowing down, even with plenty of mouths to feed in the rotation. Mitchell has gone over his points line in five of his last six contests and cleared 11.5 points in every one of those outings as well. He’s a true stalwart of Oklahoma City’s second unit and went over that same 11.5-point line in 22 of his 32 appearances overall this season, too. With Golden State missing standout defenders across the board and the potential for starters to his the bench early, there’s a great chance for Mitchell to exceed tonight’s points prop once more.
