Kevin Durant, Thunder in Denver for showdown with Nuggets
Kevin Durant and the Thunder will be in Denver on Wednesday in a crucial Western Conference match that tips with OKC just 2.5 games behind the Nuggets in the Northwest.
Has the future already arrived for the Oklahoma City Thunder?

My colleagues and I here at the fabulous SBR Forum have been telling you about the Thunder for months now. But what began as praise for Oklahoma City's ability to get to the pay window has become something even greater. We’re going to have to start talking about Oklahoma City as a possible spoiler in the Western Conference playoffs.
The Thunder beat the Sacramento Kings 113-107 Tuesday night. Kevin Durant and Co. failed to cash in as 10-point home faves, but the Thunder still improved to 12-2 SU and 8-6 ATS in its last 14 games.
Oklahoma City is now in sixth place in the Western Conference and just three games out of second place.
In between are the Denver Nuggets at 39-21 (27-29-4 ATS). The Nuggets are a game up on the Utah Jazz in the Northwest Division and 2.5 games ahead of Oklahoma City with about 20 games remaining in the regular season. This makes Wednesday night’s matchup at Pepsi Center (9 p.m. ET) considerably more important than it may appear at first glance.
The winner of the division gets an automatic Top 3 seed in the West and home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. How important is home court? Very much so if you’re the Nuggets:
Denver at home: 25-5 SU, 15-14-1 ATS
Denver away: 14-16 SU, 12-15-3 ATS
Oklahoma City at home: 18-11 SU, 16-13 ATS
Oklahoma City away: 17-12 SU, 19-10 ATS
Playing at Pepsi Center gives Denver a big advantage; this is literally the Mile High City, a full 5,280 feet above sea level (exactly one statute mile) and a very difficult environment for players who aren’t used to the thinner air at higher elevations. Denver makes it even more difficult on opponents by running the fifth-fastest offense in the league at 97.6 possessions per game.
The Nuggets used to be even faster before acquiring Chauncey Billups as their point guard two years ago in the Allen Iverson trade. Billups ran a much slower halfcourt offense with the Detroit Pistons, where he won his first and only NBA title in 2004. But he’s adjusted well to the new conditions, maintaining a very high level of play (22.23 PER, third among NBA point guards) and developing a strong chemistry with superstar small forward Carmelo Anthony (22.82 PER).
Only two players at the 3-spot have performed better than Anthony this year. One is the incomparable LeBron James (31.86 PER). The other: Oklahoma City’s own Kevin Durant (25.25 PER), who continues to toil in relative obscurity at an MVP level.
Durant and the Thunder have compiled one of the most profitable records in the NBA thanks to their small-market status and their quantum leap in play over last year, when the young Thunder finished last in the Northwest at 23-59 and still made big money at 46-34-1 ATS. How good is Durant? Try 39 points and 10 rebounds Tuesday night against the Kings.
The early betting odds for Wednesday’s matchup had the Nuggets as 6-point favorites with a total of 207 points. Many books decided to open Denver at -6½. Sharp bettors will be more than happy with that; the Thunder have cashed in seven times in a row at Denver’s expense dating back to April 2008, and six straight since Billups came over from the Pistons. The two teams have split a pair of victories home and away this year, with Denver winning 102-93 on December 14 as a 10-point home chalk. Both games this season went 'under' to snap a nine-game streak for the 'over.'
As usual, the consensus reports have bettors climbing on the 'over' wagon, to the tune of 94 percent as we went to press. The Nuggets were pulling in 60 percent support against the pointspread. Denver is no pushover, but it’s plain to see where the value is in this matchup
Kevin Durant and the Thunder will be in Denver on Wednesday in a crucial Western Conference match that tips with OKC just 2.5 games behind the Nuggets in the Northwest.
Has the future already arrived for the Oklahoma City Thunder?

My colleagues and I here at the fabulous SBR Forum have been telling you about the Thunder for months now. But what began as praise for Oklahoma City's ability to get to the pay window has become something even greater. We’re going to have to start talking about Oklahoma City as a possible spoiler in the Western Conference playoffs.
The Thunder beat the Sacramento Kings 113-107 Tuesday night. Kevin Durant and Co. failed to cash in as 10-point home faves, but the Thunder still improved to 12-2 SU and 8-6 ATS in its last 14 games.
Oklahoma City is now in sixth place in the Western Conference and just three games out of second place.
In between are the Denver Nuggets at 39-21 (27-29-4 ATS). The Nuggets are a game up on the Utah Jazz in the Northwest Division and 2.5 games ahead of Oklahoma City with about 20 games remaining in the regular season. This makes Wednesday night’s matchup at Pepsi Center (9 p.m. ET) considerably more important than it may appear at first glance.
The winner of the division gets an automatic Top 3 seed in the West and home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. How important is home court? Very much so if you’re the Nuggets:
Denver at home: 25-5 SU, 15-14-1 ATS
Denver away: 14-16 SU, 12-15-3 ATS
Oklahoma City at home: 18-11 SU, 16-13 ATS
Oklahoma City away: 17-12 SU, 19-10 ATS
Playing at Pepsi Center gives Denver a big advantage; this is literally the Mile High City, a full 5,280 feet above sea level (exactly one statute mile) and a very difficult environment for players who aren’t used to the thinner air at higher elevations. Denver makes it even more difficult on opponents by running the fifth-fastest offense in the league at 97.6 possessions per game.
The Nuggets used to be even faster before acquiring Chauncey Billups as their point guard two years ago in the Allen Iverson trade. Billups ran a much slower halfcourt offense with the Detroit Pistons, where he won his first and only NBA title in 2004. But he’s adjusted well to the new conditions, maintaining a very high level of play (22.23 PER, third among NBA point guards) and developing a strong chemistry with superstar small forward Carmelo Anthony (22.82 PER).
Only two players at the 3-spot have performed better than Anthony this year. One is the incomparable LeBron James (31.86 PER). The other: Oklahoma City’s own Kevin Durant (25.25 PER), who continues to toil in relative obscurity at an MVP level.
Durant and the Thunder have compiled one of the most profitable records in the NBA thanks to their small-market status and their quantum leap in play over last year, when the young Thunder finished last in the Northwest at 23-59 and still made big money at 46-34-1 ATS. How good is Durant? Try 39 points and 10 rebounds Tuesday night against the Kings.
The early betting odds for Wednesday’s matchup had the Nuggets as 6-point favorites with a total of 207 points. Many books decided to open Denver at -6½. Sharp bettors will be more than happy with that; the Thunder have cashed in seven times in a row at Denver’s expense dating back to April 2008, and six straight since Billups came over from the Pistons. The two teams have split a pair of victories home and away this year, with Denver winning 102-93 on December 14 as a 10-point home chalk. Both games this season went 'under' to snap a nine-game streak for the 'over.'
As usual, the consensus reports have bettors climbing on the 'over' wagon, to the tune of 94 percent as we went to press. The Nuggets were pulling in 60 percent support against the pointspread. Denver is no pushover, but it’s plain to see where the value is in this matchup