Will the ‘Slim Reaper’ lead the way?
The wait is finally over: The 80th NBA season kicks off with the Oklahoma champions’ home game against the Rockets!
The home team has made few changes to its roster compared to last season. Given that they won the title, there was no need to do so. The visiting Texans, on the other hand, have significantly revamped their team.
In this context, they were the main protagonists in the biggest deal in NBA history last summer, involving no fewer than seven franchises and 13 players! The Rockets traded Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks to the Phoenix Suns and got none other than Kevin Durant in return.
The power forward is now 37 years old, but a look at his last season with the Suns shows that he can still be counted among the top players in the NBA. The two-time NBA champion played 62 games in the regular season and averaged 26.6 points! He will also be extra motivated for his debut, which is why we believe the Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Houston Rockets prediction of more than 25.5 points by the “Slim Reaper” could be worthwhile!
However, even KD doesn’t change much about the hosts’ role as favorites. In our opinion, the OKC vs. Houston betting odds for a home win by at least eight points are also a good bet. We also expect a strong performance from Alperen Sengün.
The Rockets center won the silver medal with Turkey at the 2025 European Championships in the summer and once again delivered very convincing performances at the tournament. As a reward, he was voted into the All-Star Five of the competition!
In the previous season, the 23-year-old also achieved a seasonal double-double in points and rebounds, which is why betting on another double-digit haul in points and boards by the Turkish “big man,” a feat he also achieved at the aforementioned European Championship, is also worth recommending.
Oklahoma City Thunder – Houston Rockets Head-to-head comparison / H2H record
OKC has won three of the last five games against the basketball hunters from the Lone Star State, including a victory in the semifinals of last year’s NBA Cup in Las Vegas. For the upcoming matchup between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Houston Rockets, the odds once again favor the home team.
Oklahoma City Thunder – Houston Rockets Tip
The hosts still have their three best players at their disposal in Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and given that they are all young (SGA is the oldest at 27), the prospects for further success in OKC are excellent. In the preseason, the home team was also extremely strong at home, which is why we consider them the favorites in the opener of the new NBA season.
However, in the duel between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Houston Rockets, we are opting for odds of more than 25.5 points by Kevin Durant for the visitors. The forward arrived from Phoenix in the summer and, despite being 27 years old, remains one of the top players in the NBA in his position. On top of that, he now has to take on even more responsibility in scoring due to Fred VanVleet’s injury-related absence.
