Tag: Golden State Warriors

Chicago Bulls at Golden State Warriors odds, picks and best bets

Previewing Wednesday’s Chicago Bulls at Golden State Warriors sports betting odds and lines, with NBA betting picks, tips and best bets.

The Chicago Bulls (6-12) face the Golden State Warriors (3-15) Wednesday night with tip-off coming just after 10:30 p.m. ET at Chase Center. We analyze the Bulls-Warriors odds and lines, with NBA betting advice and tips around the matchup.

Place a legal sports bet on this NBA action or other games at BetMGM.

Bulls at Warriors: Key injuries

Bulls

  • PF Luke Kornet (nose) questionable
  • PG Ryan Arcidiacono (elbow) day-to-day

Warriors

  • PF Draymond Green (heel) questionable
  • SG D’Angelo Russell (thumb) out
  • PF Kevon Looney (hamstring) out

Bulls at Warriors: Odds, lines, picks, and betting tips

NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at 12 p.m. ET.

Prediction

Warriors 116, Bulls 112

Moneyline (ML)

The Warriors have lost 15 of their first 18 games. Yes, they have a pile of injuries and have won only once this year at home, but Chicago (-143) has won only once in four tries versus the Western Conference.

Our pick is with the WARRIORS (+120), albeit with a fair amount of risk.

New to sports betting? A $10 wager on the Warriors returns a profit of $12 with an outright win.

Line/Against the Spread (ATS)

Golden State is 3-5 against the spread at home and has split the cover over the last four contests. Chicago is 3-5 on the road. Both teams fall below the cover line as well with some heavier movement on the Golden State side of the ledger.

Pick GOLDEN STATE (+1.5, +105). Taking the Warriors outright means going all the way and giving them the nod against the spread also. This bet returns a $10.50 profit on a $10 wager.

Over/Under (O/U)

The projected total is set at 216.5. Golden State puts up 107.6 points per game and the Bulls average 107.1 PPG. Take the OVER (-115) with sloppy defensive play boosting the total score.

Want some action on this game? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips and advice, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Follow @ChrisWasselDFS and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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Chris Paul is shooting career 3-point numbers so far with Thunder

Chris Paul is having a shooting resurgence so far with the Oklahoma City Thunder

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Chris Paul is in his 15th NBA season, and he’s made an improvement that’s helped him have a resurgence from last season.

Paul is shooting a career-high 41.4% from the 3-point line, and he leads the Thunder in 3-point field goal percentage. He tied a season-high four 3-pointers during the Thunder’s win over the Golden State Warriors, scoring 20 points, grabbing seven rebounds and tallying five assists.

In recent seasons, Paul has shot a higher volume of 3-pointers, averaging at least five 3-pointers a game in the past three seasons.

But this season, Paul is shooting 4.4 3-pointers a game, his fewest since when he averaged the same amount during the 2015-16 season.

Paul’s shooting on lower volume has helped him have a better season compared to last. This season, he’s averaging 16.2 points on 44.9% from the field.

Those shooting and scoring numbers are up from last season. During the 2018-19 season Paul shot 35.8% from three on 6.1 attempts, his second-highest career number of 3-point attempts. Paul also shot a career-low 41.9% from the field and averaged a career-low 15.6 points a game.

What’s also important is that Paul has not missed any of the Thunder’s 16 games this season. Last season Paul played in 58 games, as he suffered a hamstring injury around Christmas. 

If Paul can continue to stay healthy and maintain his good shooting, then he could boost his trade value.

The Thunder might not trade him at the deadline later this season, but with his veteran experience and higher numbers, Paul could be valuable for a playoff contender in the latter half of the season.

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Chris Paul’s late jumper sinks Warriors as OKC picks up first road win of season

Paul hit a 19-foot jumper with 36 seconds to lift Oklahoma City to a 100-97 win over Golden State.

Billy Donovan said that he believed all the close losses would eventually pay dividends for his team. On Monday night, it did.

After trailing the majority of the game, Oklahoma City mounted a fourth-quarter come back to pick up their first road win of the season, 100-97 over the Golden State Warriors.

Trailing by 10 with three minutes remaining, Chris Paul hit a three to get it to 97-90, then on the ensuing possession, Dennis Schröder hit a deep 3-pointer to cut the deficit down to four.

The Thunder closed the game on a 13-0 run, capped off by a Paul 19-foot jumper with 36 seconds left to lift Oklahoma City.

Paul scored 20 points for OKC, and Schröder came off the bench to lead the team with 22.

Oklahoma City snapped a three-game losing streak on Monday, their three previous losses coming by a combined 10 points.

Draymond Green, who Steve Kerr had expected to play against the Thunder, did not play for the third straight game with a sore heel.

OKC was without guard Hamidou Diallo, who did not make the trip after suffering a right elbow hyperextension injury in last Friday’s loss to the Lakers. Diallo will be re-evaluated in four to six weeks.

The Thunder stay on the West Coast, facing Portland on Wednesday night.

Steph Curry, Klay Thompson selected to The Athletic’s All-Decade team

Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green are three of the best Warriors ever.

As arguably the best backcourt ever, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson will go down as two of the best guards in NBA history.

Curry’s and Thompson’s greatness was recognized Monday by Zach Harper of The Athletic. Harper placed Curry and Thompson on The Athletic’s All-Decade team for the 2010s. Curry was picked as the lead guard for the first team, and Thompson was selected as a wing on the second team. Along with Curry and Thompson, Draymond Green earned honorable mention.

As three-time champions, Curry, Thompson and Green are arguably one of the best trios of all-time.

They’re up there with the 1980s Boston Celtics frontcourt of Kevin McHale, Larry Bird and Robert Parish; the Heatles that consisted of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh; the Celtics Big 3 of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen; the regularly competitive group of San Antonio Spurs legends Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker.

Curry and Thompson are two of the best shooters ever, and both are ranked in the top five among active players for 3-point field goal percentage. Curry has shot 43.5% from the 3-point line for his career, and Thompson has shot 41.9%.

Green is one of the best defenders of this era, and he’s arguably the most valuable role player of this generation as well. It’s hard to say the Warriors would have been as feared had Green not been on the team.

With his facilitating and hustle, Green was one of the Warriors’ most important players during their run from 2014-2019.

As the decade comes to a close, the Warriors are no longer one of the league’s best teams. Next season, though, with Curry and Thompson presumably healthy, the Warriors should be competitive again.

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Oklahoma City Thunder at Golden State Warriors odds, picks and best bets

Previewing Monday’s Oklahoma City Thunder at Golden State Warriors sports betting odds, with NBA betting picks, tips and best bets.

The Oklahoma City Thunder (5-10) face the Golden State Warriors (3-14) Monday night with tip-off coming just after 10:30 pm ET at Chase Center. We analyze the Thunder-Warriors odds and lines, with NBA betting advice and tips around the matchup.

Place a legal sports bet on this NBA action or other games at BetMGM.

Thunder at Warriors: Key injuries

Thunder

  • SG Hamidou Diallo (elbow) out
  • SG Andre Roberson (knee) out

Warriors

  • PF Draymond Green (heel) questionable
  • PF Kevon Looney (hamstring) out

Thunder at Warriors: Odds, lines, picks, and betting tips

NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at 2:15 pm. ET.

Prediction

Thunder 113, Warriors 108

Moneyline (ML)

The two teams have combined for a woeful 8-24 record this year. Golden State’s injuries have taken a hard toll. The Thunder have been close to their opponents in terms of scoring while the Warriors have an average scoring differential of minus-10.4 points per game (worst in the NBA).

Our pick is with the THUNDER (-238).

New to sports betting? A $10 wager on Oklahoma City returns a profit of $4.18 with an outright win.

Line/Against the Spread (ATS)

Neither team has covered spreads well this year, but Oklahoma City is 4-2 against the spread at on the road. Golden State is 2-5 ATS at home while falling four points below the cover line.

Oklahoma City tends to allow teams to hang around. Golden State could linger in this one and a small lean towards a WARRIORS (+5.5, +100) cover is our pick here.

Over/Under (O/U)

The projected total is set at 213.5. The two teams average fewer than 110 points per game but this could be an exception given Golden State plays to a higher pace (several possessions higher per quarter) at home. Oklahoma City will have to play along.

It is why we side with the OVER (-105) Monday night in Golden State.

Want some action on this game? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips and advice, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Follow @ChrisWasselDFS and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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Thunder search for season’s first road win at Golden State

Only the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Orlando Magic are still winless on the road this season.

The Thunder continue to search for their first road win of the season Monday when Oklahoma City travels to take on the Golden State Warriors.

Both OKC and the Orlando Magic are the only teams in the NBA without a road win so far this season.

Monday night may be the night for Oklahoma City to get that elusive road victory. The Thunder have already beaten Golden State twice this season, a 120-92 win at home back on October 27, followed by a 114-108 victory at Chesapeake Energy Arena on November 10.

The last time out, Oklahoma City fell at home to the Los Angeles Lakers. The 130-127 loss was the seventh game this season, as well as the third straight, that the Thunder had lost by five points or less.

According to Thunder digital reporter, Paris Lawson, head coach Billy Donovan believes that despite ending in losses, the close games are providing his young team with important learning opportunities.

“We’ve just got to keep getting better and learning from those situations,” said Donovan. “We’re going to go through these experiences, we need to get better from them, we need to learn from them.”

The Thunder will be without Hamidou Diallo, who suffered a hyperextended right elbow against the Lakers. He was ruled out against the Warriors on Sunday, and no time table for his return has been given.

The Warriors are dealing with injuries of their own. Steve Kerr did say Friday, however, that he expects Draymond Green to return against the Thunder after missing two games with a sore heel.

Tip-off Monday night is at 9:30 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on Fox Sports Oklahoma as well as on the radio via 98.1 FM WWLS the Sports Animal and the Thunder Radio Network.

Kerr expects Draymond Green to return Monday against Oklahoma City

Steve Kerr said on Friday he expects Draymond Green to return Monday after missing back-to-back games with a sore heel.

There are a lot of players on both sides that are going to be out of Monday’s game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State.

But the Warriors don’t expect Draymond Green to be one of them.

Green missed back-to-back games with a sore heel, but according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic, Steve Kerr told reporters prior to Golden State’s game against the Jazz on Friday that they expect Green to be back Monday in time to take on the Thunder.

“The expectation is he will be able to play,” Kerr told reporters in Utah. “To have two days off— the next two days is really important. Rather than chase our tail with this one, we’d rather just take tonight off— that will have given him five straight days by the time we play.”

The Warriors desperately need Green to return to the rotation. As noted by WarriorsWire, Golden State leads the NBA in games missed due to injury. Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, D’Angelo Russell, Kevon Looney, Jacob Evans III, and Damion Lee will all be out against Oklahoma City, per Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman.

Golden State not the only one dealing with injuries, however.

The Thunder announced Sunday that Hamidou Diallo will miss Monday’s game after suffering a hyperextended right elbow in Friday’s loss.

Steven Adams has also been hampered by a left knee injury, although he scored a season-high 22 points against the Lakers.

The Thunder and Golden State will tip-off inside the Chase Center at 9:30 p.m. CT Monday night.

Report: Warriors GM Bob Myers to scout LaMelo Ball, R.J. Hampton

Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers will reportedly travel to Australia to scout NBL Next Stars LaMelo Ball and R.J. Hampton.

While it is early in the NBA season, the Golden State Warriors are one of the few teams that can be certain of their outlook moving forward. Long-term injuries to Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, nagging short-term injuries to Draymond Green and D’Angelo Russell and departures of Andre Iguodala and Kevin Durant has decimated the defending Western Conference champions.

All of that has added up to a league-worst three wins in the first 17 games. With a spot in the draft lottery a near certainty even in the opening months of the season, the Warriors have turned to scouting the upcoming 2020 NBA Draft.

In a piece for The Athletic, Anthony Slater reported that Warriors general manager Bob Myers will head to Australia to recruit the NBL’s pair of Next Stars.

“In the coming weeks, I’ve been told Myers is planning to make a trip over to Australia, where he’ll be able to scout LaMelo Ball and R.J. Hampton in person.”

Both LaMelo Ball and R.J. Hampton are guards, the latter considered more of a combo guard than the former. The Warriors already have a gluttony of guards in Curry, Thompson and Russell as is. While Russell has long been seen more as a trade piece than a part of the core moving forward, there are still two franchise guards on the roster.

The Warriors likely are using the opportunity to simply do due diligence and scout all of the young prospects atop the draft boards. Still, having a Ball brother become a Splash Brother is certainly an intriguing prospect.

Omari Spellman wants to be better than Marreese Speights

Omari Spellman has a similar play style to Marreese Speights, but he wants to be better than the former Warrior.

A second-year player out of Villanova, Golden State Warriors big man Omari Spellman knows about the comparisons to former Warrior Marreese Speights.

With Spellman in his first year with Golden State, he respects Speights, but he’s focused on making his own way in the NBA. Spellman talked about how he’s working to fulfill his own path to success with NBC Sports Bay Area’s Logan Murdock. 

“Mo is a great player. No disrespect to Mo Speights at all,” he continued. “But if I can, I want to be better than Mo Speights. And I’m pretty sure he would tell me the same thing. I’m pretty sure he would tell me the same thing like ‘bro, you don’t want to be me. Your goal should be to be better than me.’ So I don’t want to be Mo Speights.”

Spellman, 22, has been compared to Speights because they are of similar build, but they also have similar play styles.

Speights could knock down open jumpers, and Spellman can, too. Speights was also a solid rebounder, as he averaged 4.1 rebounds for his career. He was a key player for the Warriors during their 2015 championship season. During the regular season, he scored a career-high 10.4 points per game on 49.2% shooting from the field. Speights also grabbed 4.3 rebounds a game.

During the NBA Finals that season, Speights played three games and totaled nine points. His performance in Game 1 was his best, as he scored eight points and shot 50% from the field.

This season, Spellman has been one of the Warriors’ best young players. He’s averaging career-highs in points per game (7.4) and rebounds (5.5). He’s also done well grabbing offensive rebounds. Spellman ranks third in offensive rebound percentage (14.9%), according to Basketball Reference. 

With Spellman being a quality player off the bench, he has a chance to continue being key for the Warriors during this transitional season.

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Warriors two-way guard Ky Bowman is making an impression on Steve Kerr

Steve Kerr is impressed with what two-way guard Ky Bowman has done with his opportunity in the NBA. The coach wants to keep him around for the future.

The one positive to come out of injuries to Stephen Curry and D’Angelo Russell has been more opportunities for Golden State Warriors two-way guard, Ky Bowman.

Bowman signed a two-way contract to split time with Golden State and their G League affiliate the Santa Cruz Warriors after going undrafted out of Boston College. However, the rookie is quickly moving towards a guaranteed contract inside the association.

Bowman’s played in all 16 of the Warriors games so far this season and is averaging 7.6 points and 2.3 assists. Bowman’s seen the lion’s share of minutes at point guard during Golden State’s recent road swing while Russell deals with a sprained thumb, and Draymond Green nurses a sore heel.

In that time, Bowman has stepped up for the injury-ravaged Warriors, averaging 13.8 points, 4.0 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.8 steals in four games.

What’s been most impressive about Bowman’s game in that time is his ability to take the care of the basketball. He’s only turned the ball over once over during Golden State’s recent four-game stretch.

Bowman’s shown complete control of Steve Kerr’s offense while having to guard players like Mike Conley, Luka Doncic and Ja Morant on the defensive end.

Kerr had high praise for the undrafted 22-year old rookie after the Warriors 113-109 loss in Utah.

“All we can do is keep giving him the opportunity, and he’s seizing it,” said the coach of Golden State. “It’s a great opportunity for him as well as our other young players— In a season that’s obviously disappointing in terms of the wins and losses, there’s a lot of individual battles to be won and a guy like Ky Bowman is playing for his career and so for him to get this opportunity and seize it and play well and show the league what he’s about it’s fantastic.”

Players signed to two-way contracts can spend a maximum of 45-days on an NBA roster meaning Bowman’s days are currently numbered with Golden State, unless they can find a way to add him to their roster for the remainder of the season.

The Dubs will have to get creative if they plan on keeping Bowman around, as they are currently hard-capped with their salary. Regardless of the cap situation, Kerr is making it clear he wants Bowman to stay with the Warriors.

“Obviously, I want to keep him. I think we feel really strongly about that,” said Kerr. “But if we can’t, I’m really happy he’s shown what he can do and shown he belongs in the NBA.”

Russell is slated to miss a couple more games with his sprained thumb, giving Bowman more time to capitalize on the opportunity he’s getting with Golden State.

The Warriors have been successful developing guards off the bench in the past. Ian Clark, Kent Bazemore and Quinn Cook all went on to sign lucrative NBA contracts after time in Golden State, and Bowman could be the next.