Thunder vs. Trail Blazers Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for December 19 (Oklahoma City Torches Portland in the Paint)

Thunder vs. Trail Blazers Game Info

• Date: Monday, December 19, 2022
• Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
• Venue: Paycom Center -- Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
• Coverage: BSOK and ROOT Sports NW

The 2022-23 NBA season continues on Monday with nine more games, including a battle between the Portland Trail Blazers and Oklahoma City Thunder. The Trail Blazers rank sixth in the Western Conference with a 17-13 record, while the Thunder check in 13th with an 12-18 record.

Portland enters as a victor in four of its last five games and just took down the Houston Rockets by a score of 107-95 on Saturday. Meanwhile, Oklahoma City snapped a five-game losing streak by defeating the Memphis Grizzlies, 115-109, on Saturday. Which team will come out on top tonight?

Thunder vs. Trail Blazers Odds & Spread

• All NBA betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
• Moneyline: POR: (-225) | OKC: (+190)
• Spread: POR: -5.5 (-110) | OKC: +5.5 (-110)
• Total: 229 -- Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)

The Trail Blazers enter this contest as clear road favorites on the moneyline and spread per FanDuel Sportsbook's odds. This 8 p.m. ET clash also features an over/under of 229 points, which is one of the higher totals on Monday's slate.

Thunder vs. Trail Blazers Betting Trends

• The Trail Blazers compiled a 30-50-2 record against the spread last season.
• The Thunder's ATS record as underdogs of 7 points or more was 30-18-2 last season.
• Last season, 36 Trail Blazers games hit the over.
• Out of 82 Thunder games last season, 40 went over the total.

Thunder vs. Trail Blazers Prediction & Pick

The Thunder took advantage of an early Ja Morant ejection and ended their five-game losing streak on Saturday without their big stars. Both Shai Geilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey did not suit up due to injuries but are expected to return on Monday. That is obviously a big boost for Oklahoma City.

It's a boost that gives OKC a shot to pull off an upset. Oklahoma City's offense averages 115.3 points per game (No. 11 in NBA) and tallies 55.4 points in the paint per contest (No. 4 in NBA). That is bad news for a Trail Blazers defense that allows the eighth-most points in the paint per game (51.6).

The Thunder are also 4-1 straight up in their last five games against the Trail Blazers. I'll back OKC.

Final Score Prediction: Thunder: 113 | Trail Blazers: 111

Thunder vs. Trail Blazers Best Bet

Even if the Thunder fall apart in the fourth quarter and don't win this game outright, there's a good chance they can keep it close. Oklahoma City is 7-3 against the spread (ATS) in its last 10 games and 4-1 ATS in its last five home games. Chemistry is being developed at a rapid pace.

On the other side, Portland is only 1-4 ATS in its last five games against Oklahoma City. The home crowd should do just enough to will their favorite players to ball out on Monday.

Bet: Oklahoma City Thunder +5.5 (-110)

Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel. 

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.