Oklahoma City Thunder vs Toronto Raptors Prediction: Raptors to claim victory

Oklahoma has won 6 of their last 10 head-to-head encounters with Toronto, so one of the Western outsiders cannot be called a comfortable opponent for the Raptors. Will the Thunder be able to beat the Canadian team again?

The Thunder have lost four straight games, dropping to 12th place in the Western Conference. Oklahoma was in the play-in zone recently, and the credit goes primarily to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who burst into the race for the MVP title. Shai is averaging 31.6 points, but is unlikely to compete for the coveted award. Gilgeous-Alexander's surroundings leave a lot to be desired, and the team is tackling very different things. But even the Thunder are failing to develop young guys. It's hard to remember the last time Oklahoma produced a star. Chet Holmgren could be that guy but he'll miss next year and the big man hasn't emerged yet. Josh Giddey is good at point guard, but he's not making much progress in finishing offenses, and even Tre Mann looks more preferable in that regard.

In addition to Holmgren, Darius Bazley was sidelined for 4 minutes in his recent game against Milwaukee. Mark Daigneault's team lost 132-136 to the Bucks, needing two overtime periods to decide the winner. Gilgeous-Alexander had another spectacular game, scoring 39 points. Second and third in scoring were also the defenders: Mann and Giddey combined to generate as many points as Shai, while Giddey managed 15 rebounds. Aleksej Pokusevski had a nice shooting performance from beyond the arc, making 3 three-pointers.

The Raptors have won 6 of their last 9 regular season games to move into fifth place in the Eastern Conference. The Raptors defeated Houston 116-109 at home in their last game, and before that they traded home wins with Chicago. Toronto will have to play another week and a half without their offensive leader, Pascal Siakam, but Fred VanVleet is in crazy shape, averaging 29.7 points in his previous 3 games. OG Anunoby also helps make up for Siakam's absence, and Otto Porter is slowly gaining form after an injury. Scottie Barnes is very talented, but he needs time to grow into a full-fledged star and unlock his skills.

The Thunder are a one-star team, and an opponent with a more or less organized defense will have a much easier time getting a win against Oklahoma. The home team plays a hectic game, making a lot of silly mistakes, and the second strongest player on the Thunder is weaker than even Toronto's No. 4 or 5. The Raptors have proven they can do without Siakam on offense, and Otto Porter, who missed the start of the season, has added depth to the Canadian lineup. Oklahoma resisted Milwaukee admirably, but their opponent played without their three leaders, so even a loss in two overtime periods against such an opponent cannot be called a success. In their last face-to-face game, the visitors won by 19 points, and should have no problems now either. Our prediction is as follows:

• H2 (-4.5) for 1.83;
• TU (219.5) for 1.95;
• W2 by 21+ Points for 7.00.

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