How about a possible NBA Finals preview in the middle of a Monday afternoon?
Things have looked shaky at times for the Cavaliers this season, but Cleveland enters MLK Day with wins in seven of its last 10 games, including victories over the Spurs, the Timberwolves, and in back-to-back contests against the 76ers. Suddenly, the Cavaliers are 24-19 and just a half-game back of the Raptors for fourth place in the Eastern Conference.
Can Cleveland keep the good times rolling in a home matchup with reigning champions? Let’s preview this tilt with the help of some of some odds and lines on the DraftKings Sportsbook.
Thunder at Cavaliers prediction, preview
As exciting as these two teams meeting is, neither is particularly healthy for Monday’s clash. Darius Garland (toe) missed Friday’s comeback win over Philadelphia and is expected to miss another week or two, while Sam Merrill (hand) and Max Strus (foot) will also be in street clothes. On the Thunder’s side, Jalen Williams (hamstring) was forced to leave Saturday’s game versus Miami in the second quarter, and he’s since been ruled out of today’s affair. It’s the continuation of what’s been an injury-plagued and underwhelming campaign for the one-time All-Star, as Williams has been limited to only 24 starts in 2025-26. In those contests, Williams is averaging just 16.8 points and shooting 30.0% from three-point range.
Oklahoma City has also been playing without Isaiah Hartenstein (calf) for a majority of the past two months, which has certainly contributed to a bit of a mid-season swoon for the Thunder. Well, as much of a “swoon” as a team with a 35-8 record can have. Whether it’s injuries or a classic case of a championship-level squad throttling down, Oklahoma City possesses only a +6.8 net rating through the first three weeks of January. For context, that’s just the sixth-best mark in the NBA and a figure that’s far below the Thunder’s league-leading mark of +12.7 for 2025-26 as a whole — which is tied with the team’s record-setting net rating from 2024-25.
With all that said, Oklahoma City has lost consecutive games on a mere two occasions this season, so Cleveland will be in tough to get a victory this afternoon. In all honesty, it might take another herculean performance from Jaylon Tyson. The sophomore wing has been incredibly valuable for the Cavaliers, averaging 13.4 points per contest and shooting an eye-popping 47.5% from distance — the second-best qualified mark in basketball. Still, despite a decent track record of success, I don’t think anyone was prepared for what Tyson pulled off on Friday in Philly. In 38.2 minutes of action, Tyson registered a career-high 39 points, all while hitting seven of his nine three-point attempts. On an evening where Donovan Mitchell was held 13 points with six turnovers, Cleveland doesn’t come close to winning without Tyson’s hot touch from beyond the arc.
Thunder at Cavaliers pick, best bet
Best Bet: Cavaliers +6.5 (-112)
Full disclosure, Cleveland is a putrid 15-28 ATS this season, easily the worst record in the NBA. Does that bode well against a team as talented as the Thunder? Not exactly. Yet at the same time, this feels like a huge spread at home for a Cavaliers squad that is finally starting to find its stride. With Oklahoma City a little beat up and seemingly on auto-pilot, I’ll take the points.
