NBA Picks & Parlay of the Weekend | November 18

Saturday is a big night in the NBA, but we’ve got our eyes on the matchup between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Golden State Warriors. The Thunder took down Golden State 128-109 on Thursday night with the teams ready to square off again on Saturday night. We have three expert picks for this matchup that could be turned into a same-game parlay.

Thunder -3 | -110 at FanDuel

Oklahoma City took care of business when these teams met on Thursday. The Thunder led by 15 points after the first quarter and never looked back. The Warriors have lost five in a row and are really struggling. Playing without Steph Curry on Thursday didn’t make things any easier, and there’s no guarantee he’ll play on Saturday either. Even if he does, that doesn’t necessarily change how things will play out. 

While Golden State is ice cold, the Thunder are heating up with five wins in their last six games. They’ve also gone 5-1 against the spread during that stretch while the Warriors have lost four in a row against the spread. The line for Saturday’s game is small enough to believe that Oklahoma City can easily cover with eight points being their smallest margin of victory during their 5-1 stretch. Even if Curry plays, he won’t be 100%, making it reasonable to back OKC in this game.

Under 232.5 | -110 at BetMGM

With these teams playing for the second time in three games, both teams should be a little better defensively. That immediate familiarity figures to benefit the defense because both sets of players will have learned lessons from Thursday’s game when 237 total points were scored and the game hit the over.

Sports bettors should remember that both the Thunder and Warriors have hit the under more frequently than the over this season. Also, if Curry plays, he could struggle to reach his season average of 30.7 points per game. Obviously, if Curry sits again, points will be more at a premium.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Over 5.5 Assists | -130 at DraftKings

Not only is Gilgeous-Alexander leading the Thunder in scoring but he’s also dishing out six assists per game to lead the team in that category as well. If he hits his season average for assists in this game, this bet will win. To be fair, Gilgeous-Alexander has failed to record more than 5.5 assists in three of his last four games.

However, Gilgeous-Alexander had seven assists against the Warriors on Thursday. That’s no fluke because he's so much taller than Golden State's point guards and able to see passing lanes clearly. Gilgeous-Alexander is also younger and quicker than Chris Paul and might even be able to get a step on Curry if he plays. The Warriors will know that stopping Gilgeous-Alexander is their top priority, giving him every opportunity to rack up a healthy assist total.