NBA Free Premium Play 11/18: Denver Nuggets @ Oklahoma City Thunder

Denver  at Oklahoma City

NBA - 505 Denver Nuggets @ 506 Oklahoma City Thunder Play #1 It's good that Oklahoma City faced a shorthanded Milwaukee team, as they would have lost the game against the Bucks at 100%. Oklahoma City showed a clear lack of energy and they were coming from tough road games at LA against the Clippers and at Golden State and so, they couldn't handle the spot very well. They struggled everywhere offensively with just 17 assists: they were poor down low and both Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook couldn't even get 10 FT attempts, something that shows their clear lack of aggression during the game. Thanks to that, Milwaukee was able to keep fighting for the win, even though they had pretty much no inside game with Zaza Pachulia shooting 3-13 FG! Milwaukee managed to get some offensive production from transitions with 16 fast break points and some outside shooting via O.J. Mayo. Oklahoma City's tired starters were clearly saved by their bench, with their main five bench players (Collison, Lamb, Adams, Jackson and Fisher) having net positives of +16, +10, +10, +11 and +5, while the best of the starting five was Westbrook with a +8! Denver is coming from a clear loss at Houston, where their defense was horrible. Of course starting a frontcourt formed by J.J. Hickson and Kenneth Faried is a bad idea for any team that wants to have a good defensive performance, as they both struggle on protecting the basket and on their defensive positioning. However, Denver's guards weren't much better on defense. Houston's backcourt did whatever they wanted on offense, with easy pick and rolls and a kick out game that worked perfectly with Houston shooting 9-21 3pts, but also 23-30 (77%) FG near the basket! Of course Denver's offense also created some good production, as Houston's perimeter defense is very soft and so, Denver's most aggressive players had success against them: Ty Lawson with 11-19 FG and Wilson Chandler with 5-10 FG, but that wasn't enough especially because Dwight Howard had a good day at the free throw line with 17-24 FT! I believe Oklahoma City's effort tonight will be much better. They are coming back home and they will be facing a divisional rival, so I expect them to be fired up for tonight. With Denver struggling to stop the opposing guards to have big games against them, I believe that the Nuggets will heavily struggle against Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, especially because Denver's Head Coach Brian Shaw will start once again Hickson and Faried in the frontcourt and they won't protect the basket at all. Also Serge Ibaka has been playing on a beast mode and he will have the edge over Faried, who is far from his best right now. Denver's offense is still quite inconsistent, as Brian Shaw is yet to find the right rotations on the team, so with their bad shooting, I expect Oklahoma City to pack the paint and defend them well. Therefore, I believe Oklahoma City will pick up an easy win tonight and so, I'll be taking them in here. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 506 Oklahoma City Thunder (-9) @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker