OKC Thunder Forcing Popular Online Sportsbook to Adjust Expectations
Prior to the start of the 2022-2023 NBA season, many presumed the Oklahoma City Thunder would finish the year out near the bottom of the league’s standings in an attempt to maximize their odds at landing one of the top picks in the upcoming draft. Why wouldn’t they? After all, they only won 21 games last year.
Likely a result of that presumptuous line of thinking coupled with the fact that the Thunder were fielding the youngest roster out of all 30 teams, many sportsbooks set their over-under at just 23.5 wins, the same as the year before.
Now, during the All-Star break, BetMGM, a company that dubs itself as “The King of Sportsbooks,” updated Oklahoma City’s over-under. They’re increasing the number to 39.5 wins - a 16-point hike. And as pointed out by Andrew Schlecht, a host of the Thunder-centric “Down to Dunk” podcast and several others, that jump is the largest amongst teams this season.
That’s right. Not only did the Thunder blow away BetMGM’s preseason odds, they forced them to make a significant adjustment to their expectations.
According to Tankathon, a popular website used to preview the NBA Draft, the Thunder have one of the easier paths to earning wins moving forward. With just 25 games to go in the regular season, they are projected to have the fifth-easiest schedule in the league and the third-easiest in the Western Conference.
If the Thunder, who currently sit with a record of 28-29, are going to beat the odds again, they will need to find 12 more wins.
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