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Thunder vs. Clippers prediction and odds for Thursday, March 23 (OKC undervalued?)

By Peter Dewey

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Oklahoma City Thunder are looking for the season series sweep of the Los Angeles Clippers after upsetting them as seven-point underdogs on Tuesday night.

The Thunder have won eight of their last 10 games, moving to the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference in the process. While the Clippers are the No. 5 seed, they are in danger of falling out of that spot following Paul George’s knee injury on Tuesday.

It’s looking like the Clippers star is going to miss the rest of the regular season with a knee sprain. So far in the 2022-23 campaign, the Clippers are just 6-11 when George sits.

Norman Powell will join George on the sidelines for the Clippers in this game, but they are still favored at home.

Can Oklahoma City go a perfect 4-0 against the Clips? Here are the latest odds for Thursday’s game:

Thunder vs. Clippers odds, spread and total

Thunder vs. Clippers prediction and pick

I’ve been all over the Thunder all season when they are set as underdogs, and I don’t plan on stopping now.

OKC is an impressive 19-8-3 ATS as a road underdog this season (70.4 percent cover rate), the second best mark in the NBA behind the Boston Celtics, who have only played five games as road dogs.

The Thunder have been undervalued in the betting market from the jump, and their advanced numbers show that they are deserving of a playoff spot. OKC is 15th in offensive rating, 10th in defensive rating and 10th in net rating so far this season.

There are very few teams in the top half of the league in all three categories, yet the Thunder are in that group. OKC has a young team, but the play-in tournament is completely in reach at this point of the season.

After winning on Tuesday despite George playing the majority of the game, I think there is value on OKC as a dog here. The team’s average scoring margin as a road underdog is just 2.6 points, so even if L.A. wins this game it should be a close one.

The Clippers have not played well when PG sits, so I’ll take the points in this Western Conference battle.

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.