Thunder Gameday: Another Road Contest, This Time in Cleveland

The fourth leg of a five-game road trip for Oklahoma City will be against the Cavaliers.

The Oklahoma City Thunder will continue their longest road trip of their season tonight in Cleveland against the Cavaliers. This will be a fantastic matchup, as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander goes up against Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell.

Cleveland will be on the second night of a back-to-back following a game against the Sacramento Kings on Saturday. The Cavaliers really struggled offensively in last night’s contest, scoring just 95 points.

 They’ll look to get back on track tonight.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Alonzo Adams / USA TODAY Sports

ODDS: 

The Thunder enter the day as 6.5-point underdogs to the Cavaliers, and the total over/under is 225 points.

KEYS TO THE GAME: 

The Cavaliers are a top ten team in the league when it comes to 3-point shooting efficiency. With that in mind, they don’t take many relative to the rest of the NBA.

Luckily for the undersized Thunder, Cleveland isn’t a great rebounding team despite having a ton of size and skill in the paint. However, the Cavs match up well individually in the frontcourt against the Thunder.

This game could come down to what happens near the rim. If OKC is able to dominate the paint, there’s a good chance of winning. Even then, the Thunder will have their hands full against two of the best young guards in the NBA.

Defense will be key for Oklahoma City against one of the rising teams in the league.

RECORDS: 

Oklahoma City Thunder (11-14) vs. Cleveland Cavaliers (16-10)

WHEN: 

Saturday, Dec. 10, 2022 at 6:30 PM CT

LOCATION: 

Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse - Cleveland, OH

TV/RADIO: 

Bally Sports Oklahoma, NBA League Pass, 98.1 FM The Sports Animal

FINAL WORD: 

Following this contest, the Thunder will close out their road trip on Monday in Dallas against the Mavericks. Meanwhile, the Cavs will head to San Antonio to take on the Spurs on Monday night.


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Inside The Thunder Staff
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