NBA Odds, Picks & Predictions: Thursday (1/16)
The National Basketball Association (NBA) has five games on Thursday night, including a nationally televised doubleheader on TNT/truTV/Max.
In the early-window game, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City Thunder square off in a marquee matchup at 7:30 p.m. ET, while the Houston Rockets and Sacramento Kings also meet at 10 p.m. ET in the second up of the national double dip.
Let’s build a bankroll as we continue into the New Year with our best NBA picks for Thursday, January 16th.
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Thursday’s Best NBA Picks
NBA odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook | All NBA picks are for 1 unit
Cleveland Cavaliers (+108) at Oklahoma City Thunder (-126) | O/U 232.5 (-110/-110)
The Cavaliers (34-5) and Thunder (33-7) square off at the Paycom Center in a battle between teams with the two best records in The Association. It’s not even close, too. Cleveland has a 6.5-game lead over the Boston Celtics for the top spot in the Eastern Conference, while Oklahoma City has a six-game lead over the Houston Rockets for the top spot. These are the only two teams yet to reach double digits in losses.
These teams met at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland on January 8th, with the Cavaliers winning 129-122 as a 3-point favorite as the over (231.5) cashed. The Thunder shot slightly better than Cleveland in the first meeting, hitting 53.3% from the field, while the Cavs went 52.2%. The difference was three-point shooting, as Cleveland shot 41.7% (15-for-36) from behind the arc, while Oklahoma City shot just 35.5% (11-for-31) from downtown. The rebounding was fairly even, with the Thunder +1, while the Cavaliers were +1 in assists.
More on that first meeting… Shai Gilgeous-Alexander went for 31 points, shooting 13-for-27, while adding five boards, four assists, three steals and two blocked shots. Jalen Williams chipped in with 25 points and nine assists, while Cason Wallace was 3-for-3 on three-pointers, ending up with 15 points. Isaiah Hartenstein had the team’s only double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds, missing a triple-double by two assists.
For Cleveland, it was a balanced scoring effort, with all five starters hitting double digits. The Cavs were able to get the win despite the fact Donovan Mitchell was just 3-for-16 from the field, ending up with 11 points, six rebounds, four assists and two three-pointers. Jarrett Allen (25 points, 11 rebounds) and Evan Mobley (21 points, 10 rebounds) were able to pick up Spida’s slack.
The Cavs were tripped up 108-93 at home against the Indiana Pacers on Sunday, but they bounced back in the second end of the home-and-home with a 127-117 win over the Pacers as an 8-point favorite as the over (230) cashed. Cleveland has won 13 of its past 14 games while going 9-4 against the spread (ATS) in the past 13 games.
The Thunder are back from a four-game Eastern Conference road trip. After opening with a loss in Cleveland, Oklahoma City won and covered the final three games in New York, Washington and Philadelphia. The over hit in all four games on the trip.
Let’s back the Thunder to exact a little revenge. Perhaps we’ll see these teams meet again in the NBA Finals, although there is a lot of basketball left. We’ll also go high on the total, as that might be the best play on the board.
Picks: Thunder -2 (-112) & Over 232.5 Points (-110)
Los Angeles Clippers (-250) at Portland Trail Blazers (+205) | O/U 221 (-110/-110)
The Clippers (22-17) and Trail Blazers (13-26) battle at Moda Center in a battle between teams going in opposite directions.
Los Angeles has won and covered the past two games since resuming play after having a game postponed last week due to the terrible wildfire in Southern California. The Clippers took out their frustrations on the poor Brooklyn Nets, racking up a 126-67 win on Wednesday to set a franchise record for margin of victory. At one point, the Clips were up by 64 points in the fourth quarter.
In case you’re wondering, the largest margin of victory in NBA history is 83 points - the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Thunder by a score of 152-79 on December 2nd, 2021,
Anyway, the Trail Blazers also played the Nets last time out. However, Portland was on the short end of a 132-114 score as 3.5-point favorites. While the Blazers have lost three in a row, they’ve failed to cover the past two against the Miami Heat and Nets, while losing by at least 18 points in both outings.
For the total, Portland has alternated the over and under in each of the past six games, while Los Angeles has hit the under in three of the past four games, with the total going low in five of the past seven outings.
Los Angeles has posted a 9-1 straight up (SU) record in the past 10 in this series, although Portland holds a 4-3 ATS edge in the past seven in the series since April 8th, 2023. The teams have split this season, too, with Portland surprising L.A. 106-105 as an 8-point underdog in L.A. on October 30th. The over is 6-1 in the past seven meetings.
We’ll still take the Clippers, despite Portland’s shocking win earlier in the series. That’s like a lifetime away from where this team is right now. And, let’s go high on the total, too.
Picks: Clippers -6.5 (-110) & Over 221 Points (-112)
Daniel E. Dobish is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Daniel, check out his archive and follow him @danieledobish.