New Orleans Hornets at Oklahoma City Thunder 2011 NBA Preview, Odds, and Predictions: All-Star point guard Chris Paul will lead the New Orleans Hornets on the road to the Ford Center to take on NBA leading scorer Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night at 8:00 PM ET on the NBA TV channel. New Orleans enters the game coming off a win at 32-18 3rd in the Southwest while the Thunder are coming off a loss and enter the game at 30-17 1st in the Northwest. The Thunder played well in its recent home loss to the Heat and Durant had a shot to put them ahead with 15 seconds left but couldn’t convert.
“We don’t take moral victories here,” said Durant, who missed a jumper with 15 seconds left that would’ve tied the score. “Moral victories have been out the door for two years now. “I don’t look at it as the ‘Big Three.’ (The Heat) may look at it like that over there, but over here we’re a whole group,’ Durant said. Durant and the usually quiet Chris Bosh got into a bit of a jawing match throughout the game that ended with him calling Bosh a “fake tough guy”. The odds makers at Diamond have the Oklahoma City Thunder a -7 1/2 point favorite at home against the New Orleans Hornets.
The Thunder fell at home 108-103 to the Miami Heat on Sunday on national TV to move to 23-24 ATS for the season. Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 33 points and 10 rebounds while point guard Russell Westbrook added 21 points 7 boards and 10 assists. Forward Jeff Green poured in 23 points and added 11 rebounds as guard-forward Daequan Cook came off the bench to chip in 13 points and pull down 4 rebounds. Vegas odds makers have the Oklahoma City Thunder +1750 to win the 2010-2011 NBA Championship.
The New Orleans Hornets are coming off a 97-89 home victory over the Washington Wizards who have not won a road game all season. Center Jason Smith led the Hornets with 20 points while filling in for Emeka Okafor who is expected to be out for a week. “I just went out there and tried to play aggressive like he would,” Smith said. “We really need him back healthy, but in the meantime we have a lot of guys that are willing to step up.” The total has gone UNDER in 4 of last 5 games when playing on the road against Oklahoma City. . Vegas odds makers have the over/under for the total score at 194 points combined of the New Orleans Hornets and Oklahoma City Thunder.
I predict the New Orleans Hornets cover on the road!
Note: Rich Fritz is a Blog Writer on NSAwins.com and not a pro handicapper. For expert NFL Football Predictions against the Vegas spreads please visit the NSAwins.com homepage for top predictions today from the National Sports Advisors.