Jalen Brunson goes to have his palms full with a stout Thunder protection Friday night time at Madison Sq. Backyard.
Oklahoma Metropolis boasts the highest protection within the NBA, holding opposing groups to simply 103.5 factors per recreation with a league-best 103.4 defensive web ranking.
They’re doing it on the again of a steady of dominant perimeter defenders, which embody Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort, Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace.
That group is completely shutting opposing guards down.
The Thunder are holding guards to simply 32.9 p.c from three and 42.9 general, that are each the most effective in basketball.
| Workforce | Unfold | Moneyline | Whole |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knicks | +4 (-112) | +154 | o225.5 (-108) |
| Thunder | -4 (-108) | -185 | u225.5 (-112) |
Take Wednesday night time’s battle with the Cleveland Cavaliers, for instance.
Regardless of a 129-122 loss, the Thunder held star scorer Donovan Mitchell to simply 11 factors on 3-of-16 from the sphere in one of many worst capturing nights of his profession.
Level guard Darius Garland didn’t fare a lot better, scoring 18 factors on 15 pictures.
Earlier this week, Celtics guards Derrick White and Jrue Vacation mixed for simply 13 factors on 26.3 p.c capturing in a mixed 70 minutes in opposition to OKC.
Actually, it was only a week in the past that Brunson struggled in opposition to OKC’s bevy of three-and-D wings, scoring 22 factors on 39.1 p.c from the sphere on 23 makes an attempt, together with zero makes on 5 tries from deep.
Scoring 22 is definitely spectacular, contemplating what they’ve finished to different backcourt scorers of late.
I doubt it’s going to get any higher on Friday.
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Brunson has been in a little bit of a capturing funk of late as nicely, making lower than 40 p.c of his makes an attempt from the sphere in 4 of his final 5 video games since his 55-point outburst in opposition to the Wizards on Dec. 28.
Fade the Knicks star on this potential NBA Finals preview.
The play: Jalen Brunson Underneath 24.5 factors (-115, DraftKings)
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Dylan Svoboda is a flexible author and analyst throughout many sports activities. He’s significantly educated concerning the huge three — MLB, the NFL and the NBA.
