The Oklahoma City Thunder battle the Denver Nuggets this Thursday in what could be an early playoff preview. Isaiah Hartenstein will miss the contest due to injury, so the Thunder must wait to see their prized offseason acquisition in action.
Keep reading for my NBA same-game parlay for this Thunder vs Nuggets matchup.
NBA Same-Game Parlay for Thunder vs Nuggets
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 30+ Points (-125)
- Chet Holmgren 2+ Made Threes (+155)
- Michael Porter Jr. 3+ Made Threes (-135)
Parlay Odds: +581 on FanDuel
Remember to bet responsibly — this is a long shot for a reason.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 30+ Points (-125)
10 p.m. ET on TNT
30 points is a casual day at the office for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He reached this mark in a whopping 68% of games last regular season. The scary part? SGA should be even better this season because Josh Giddey is no longer there to hold him back.
Opponents routinely defended Giddey with a center and had the big man aggressively sag into the paint, thus closing driving lanes. Now, the paint will be infinitely more open because the Thunder’s rotation players – outside of an injured Isaiah Hartenstein – can all knock down triples at a respectable rate.
Speaking of 3-point shooting, SGA displayed an improved stroke during Oklahoma City’s preseason games. He apparently intends to take more triples this season in order to balance out his game, which would make it easier to rack up points.
Finally, I’m skeptical that Denver has the personnel to slow down the superstar. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is off the roster, and Christian Braun lacks the strength to absorb SGA’s bumps. Peyton Watson may be a viable option, but it will be difficult for him to stay on the court if his offense did not take a leap. Nikola Jokic isn’t a traditional rim protector either.
Pick: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 30+ Points (-125)
Chet Holmgren 2+ Made Threes (+155)
10 p.m. ET on TNT
Giddey’s absence also means that forwards will not guard Chet Holmgren. Therefore, the young stretch-five seizes back his typical mobility advantage over centers. He should be dynamic as a pick-and-pop threat here for two reasons.
First, SGA will command most of the defensive attention when he uses screens to get downhill. Second, Jokic isn’t exactly the fastest player on the court and often won’t be able to recover and contest in time should SGA kick it back to Holmgren for the three.
Holmgren must also see a huge amount of minutes in the Thunder’s season opener because Hartenstein, Jaylin Williams, and Kenrich Williams are all out. Their frontcourt is decimated at the moment and needs Holmgren badly.
Pick:Chet Holmgren 2+ Made Threes (+155)
Michael Porter Jr. 3+ Made Threes (-135)
10 p.m. ET on TNT
MPJ was explosive, engaged, and overall just plain phenomenal in the preseason. He’s primed for a monster campaign because Denver will try to get him more 3-point looks while also playing more at power forward, which theoretically increases his ability to separate.
The Thunder surrendered far too many open threes last season, and it will likely happen again since they love to aggressively send weak-side help on pick-and-roll drivers. That benefits Porter Jr. in this matchup, and I expect him to launch around eight or nine attempts from deep.
It’s worth noting that he has hit this line in six of his past seven games against Oklahoma City.
Pick:Michael Porter Jr. 3+ Made Threes (-135)
