Phoenix @ Oklahoma City
Tip-off 5:00 PM PT · Draft Kings lines · 5,000 sims · win chance for OKC
NBA backtest: the books beat this sim on sides and totals; props run slightly above base rates. Details
How the sim saw it
The sim has Oklahoma City winning 86.7% of 5,000 games, against 77% from the books. The median score is Oklahoma City 117, Phoenix 101. In the most typical game: Oklahoma City leads by as many as 5 in the first half; tied 59-59 at the break. Oklahoma City's 9-0 run in the 3rd quarter is the biggest swing. Holmgren puts Oklahoma City ahead for good with 3:20 left in the 3rd. Gilgeous-Alexander finds Holmgren 4 times. McCain goes 7 of 12 off Oklahoma City's bench. Oklahoma City leads by 20 at its high point in the 4th. Phoenix gets within 10. Booker scores last; final 117-100 Oklahoma City.
Phoenix wins 666 of the 5,000. Its chances rise when it makes 16+ threes (it wins 27%), wins the turnover battle (26%) or gets 29+ from Booker (22%). The matchup to watch is Oklahoma City's ball security against Phoenix's hands. Oklahoma City covers -10.5 in 67% and the game goes over 220.5 in 44%.
Full breakdown
Last time they met (Apr 12), Phoenix won in Oklahoma City, 135-103.
Tonight Oklahoma City is without Nikola Topić, Cason Wallace and Jalen Williams.
Tonight Phoenix is without Mark Williams.
Oklahoma City went 64-18 last season (best record in the NBA).
Phoenix went 45-37 last season (13th best record in the NBA).
Oklahoma City won the season series 3-2.
Isaiah Hartenstein missed 4 of the 5 meetings.
Brooks Barnhizer missed 4 of the 5 meetings.
Devin Booker missed 3 of the 5 meetings.
Oklahoma City: gone: Luguentz Dort (now ATL), Isaiah Joe (now DET), Aaron Wiggins (now ATL); new: Jared McCain (from PHI), Micah Peavy (from NOP), Aday Mara (no NBA minutes last season), Josh Dix (no NBA minutes last season), Bennett Stirtz (no NBA minutes last season).
Phoenix: gone: Royce O'Neale (now CHA), Grayson Allen (now CHA); new: Miles Bridges (from CHA), Luke Kennard (from ATL), Pat Spencer (from GSW), Drew Timme (from LAL), Duop Reath (from POR).
Who's in the sim (top five by projected minutes listed first):
OKC: Gilgeous-Alexander, Holmgren, Mitchell, Hartenstein, Caruso
Bench: McCain, J. Williams, Peavy, Mara, K. Williams (+3 under 8 min)
Out: Sorber, Topić, Wallace, J. Williams
No NBA history: Dix (undrafted, 3 min from past rookies)
PHX: Booker, Bridges, Brooks, Gillespie, Green
Bench: Goodwin, Kennard, Dunn, Spencer, Bouyea (+5 under 8 min)
Out: M. Williams
Maybe: Ighodaro (20% to play, minutes scaled)
Who gets hunted: last season shooters hit +3.8 points vs their usual FG% against Jared McCain and +1.9 against Collin Gillespie.
The stoppers on threes: Collin Gillespie held shooters 3.1 points under their usual 3P%, Chet Holmgren held shooters 1.9 points under their usual 3P%.
The matchup to watch: Oklahoma City's ball security vs Phoenix's hands.
Oklahoma City turned it over on 11.8% of possessions last season (fewest).
Phoenix forced turnovers on 15.5% (3rd most), with 9.5 steals (4th) and 4.2 blocks (25th) a game.
Shot diets.
Oklahoma City: 42.6% of shots from three (13th), 30.0% at the rim (15th).
Phoenix: 45.3% of shots from three (7th), 25.0% at the rim (29th).
Oklahoma City's defense: 2nd fewest rim attempts allowed, 25th lowest opponent three-point % (36.9%).
Phoenix's defense: 16th fewest rim attempts allowed, 2nd lowest opponent three-point % (34.7%).
Oklahoma City's offense runs through Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on the pick-and-roll ball handler: 9.2 a game last season, 2nd most in the NBA.
1.20 points per play (top 4%), turnover on 9% of them.
When it goes to the roller: Oklahoma City's roll men scored 1.11 (15th in the league). Chet Holmgren alone: 1.33.
Phoenix faced 15.2 of those a game (28th most) and ranked 11th defending them. Against the roll man: 24th.
In the sim: 1.47 Gilgeous-Alexander-to-Holmgren baskets a game (last season: 1.42).
With 8+ Gilgeous-Alexander assists, Oklahoma City wins 90.5%.
Phoenix's offense lives on four plays: spot-up shots, the pick-and-roll ball handler, transition, isolation. It ranked 9th, 14th, 19th, 7th in points per play on them.
Oklahoma City's defense ranked 18th, 2nd, 1st, 2nd against those same four.
Devin Booker in one split:
Spot-up shots: 1.23 points per play (top 12%), 2.5 a game.
The pick-and-roll ball handler: 0.93 points per play (top 31%), 8.1 a game.
Oklahoma City's defense: 2nd against the pick-and-roll ball handler, 18th against spot-up shots.
Where Phoenix can hit back:
- Oklahoma City was 18th defending spot-up shots. Dillon Brooks ran 6.1 a game at 1.00 per play
- Oklahoma City was 9th defending off-screen shots. Devin Booker ran 1.8 a game at 1.02 per play
One check against real life:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 30.0 points in his 3 games against Phoenix last season, 37 of them on Nov 28. In our 5,000 sims: 36.3.
Devin Booker scored 22.5 points in his 2 games against Oklahoma City last season, 24 of them on Jan 4. In our 5,000 sims: 22.9.
Things you'll notice in the sim:
- Oklahoma City leads by as many as 5 in the first half; tied 59-59 at the break
- Oklahoma City's 9-0 run in the 3rd quarter is the biggest swing
- Holmgren puts Oklahoma City ahead for good with 3:20 left in the 3rd
- Gilgeous-Alexander finds Holmgren 4 times
- McCain goes 7 of 12 off Oklahoma City's bench
- Oklahoma City leads by 20 at its high point in the 4th. Phoenix gets within 10. Booker scores last; final 117-100 Oklahoma City
How Phoenix wins (666 of the 5,000):
- It makes threes: 15.7 a game in its wins, 12.9 in its losses. At 16 or more, it wins 27%
- It wins the turnover battle: then it wins 26%
- Booker scores 29 or more: then it wins 22%
Across all 5,000 sims:
Oklahoma City wins 86.7%. The books (Draft Kings) have Oklahoma City at 77%, ESPN's model at 81%.
Median score: Oklahoma City 117, Phoenix 101
Oklahoma City covers -10.5 in 67%
Over 220.5 in 44%
Leans:
Biggest role disagreements (new to the team or the league, the books see a different role): Miles Bridges rebounds line 5.5, sim 6.4; Miles Bridges assists line 2.5, sim 2.3; Miles Bridges pts+ast line 17.5, sim 16.8
- Khaman Maluach under 15.5 pts+reb (100%, sim avg 4.2)
- Khaman Maluach under 7.5 rebounds (100%, sim avg 2.4)
- Khaman Maluach under 7.5 points (99%, sim avg 1.8)
- Jordan Goodwin under 1.5 threes (75%, sim avg 0.9)
Fine print: one game isn't a prediction. The percentages are the signal.
Our own backtest (2024-26): the books beat this sim on sides and totals. Prop leans beat the base rate by 1-4 points out of sample, not enough to prove profit. Treat it as a lens, not a bet.
Most typical game, play by play (PHX score first)
Top 10 prop ideas
The sim's 10 strongest prop leans, logged Mon Oct 26, 8:12 AM and graded after the game. Players new to their team are left out. Not a proven edge: on 2024-26 games, picking each game's 10 strongest leans lost 4-7% at the books' prices, because the books already lean the same way. ESPN doesn't say which posted price is the over, so the price shown is the worse of the two. Prop ideas so far: 73-70 (51%), -14.4 units at the worse price.
| Player | Idea | Sim | Price | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Khaman Maluach | under 15.5 pts+reb | 100% | -121 | |
| Khaman Maluach | under 7.5 rebounds | 100% | -136 | |
| Khaman Maluach | under 7.5 points | 99% | -118 | |
| Jordan Goodwin | under 1.5 threes | 75% | -208 | |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | over 35.5 pts+reb | 74% | -115 | |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | over 31.5 points | 72% | -114 | |
| Collin Gillespie | under 2.5 threes | 70% | -191 | |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | over 38.5 pts+ast | 70% | -118 | |
| Ajay Mitchell | under 20.5 pts+ast | 69% | -123 | |
| Devin Booker | under 5.5 assists | 68% | -120 |
All player props
Sorted by how far the sim sits from 50%. Players new to their team are tagged: the sim is least sure about their role.
| Player | Market | Line | Sim avg | Sim over | Lean | Sim + you |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Khaman Maluach | pts+reb | 15.5 | 4.2 | 0% | under 100% | |
| Khaman Maluach | rebounds | 7.5 | 2.4 | 0% | under 100% | |
| Khaman Maluach | points | 7.5 | 1.8 | 1% | under 99% | |
| Jordan Goodwin | threes | 1.5 | 0.9 | 25% | under 75% | |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | pts+reb | 35.5 | 40.9 | 74% | over 74% | |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | points | 31.5 | 36.3 | 72% | over 72% | |
| Collin Gillespie | threes | 2.5 | 1.9 | 30% | under 70% | |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | pts+ast | 38.5 | 42.9 | 70% | over 70% | |
| Ajay Mitchell | pts+ast | 20.5 | 17.9 | 31% | under 69% | |
| Devin Booker | assists | 5.5 | 4.6 | 32% | under 68% | |
| Ajay Mitchell | points | 16.5 | 14.2 | 32% | under 68% | |
| Jordan Goodwin | points | 6.5 | 5.3 | 33% | under 67% | |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | rebounds | 3.5 | 4.6 | 67% | over 67% | |
| Ajay Mitchell | threes | 1.5 | 1.2 | 33% | under 67% | |
| Collin Gillespie | pts+ast | 13.5 | 11.7 | 33% | under 67% | |
| Dillon Brooks | pts+ast | 17.5 | 15.5 | 34% | under 66% | |
| Devin Booker | rebounds | 3.5 | 4.4 | 65% | over 65% | |
| Ajay Mitchell | pts+reb | 19.5 | 17.7 | 36% | under 64% | |
| Isaiah Hartenstein | rebounds | 7.5 | 8.7 | 64% | over 64% | |
| Jalen Green | assists | 2.5 | 2.1 | 36% | under 64% | |
| Jordan Goodwin | rebounds | 3.5 | 4.4 | 63% | over 63% | |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | threes | 1.5 | 2.1 | 63% | over 63% | |
| Miles Bridgesnew team | rebounds | 5.5 | 6.4 | 63% | over 63% | |
| Dillon Brooks | points | 15.5 | 14.1 | 37% | under 63% | |
| Collin Gillespie | points | 9.5 | 8.4 | 38% | under 62% | |
| Jordan Goodwin | pts+reb | 10.5 | 9.7 | 38% | under 62% | |
| Dillon Brooks | pts+reb | 19.5 | 18.0 | 38% | under 62% | |
| Chet Holmgren | assists | 1.5 | 1.4 | 39% | under 61% | |
| Jalen Green | pts+ast | 17.5 | 16.2 | 39% | under 61% | |
| Isaiah Hartenstein | assists | 2.5 | 3.1 | 61% | over 61% | |
| Miles Bridgesnew team | assists | 2.5 | 2.3 | 41% | under 59% | |
| Collin Gillespie | assists | 3.5 | 3.3 | 41% | under 59% | |
| Collin Gillespie | rebounds | 3.5 | 4.1 | 59% | over 59% | |
| Dillon Brooks | assists | 1.5 | 1.4 | 42% | under 58% | |
| Devin Booker | pts+ast | 28.5 | 27.5 | 42% | under 58% | |
| Miles Bridgesnew team | pts+ast | 17.5 | 16.8 | 43% | under 57% | |
| Devin Booker | threes | 1.5 | 1.9 | 57% | over 57% | |
| Dillon Brooks | rebounds | 3.5 | 4.0 | 57% | over 57% | |
| Jalen Green | pts+reb | 18.5 | 17.8 | 43% | under 57% | |
| Chet Holmgren | rebounds | 8.5 | 9.1 | 56% | over 56% | |
| Dillon Brooks | threes | 1.5 | 1.9 | 56% | over 56% | |
| Jalen Green | threes | 1.5 | 1.9 | 56% | over 56% | |
| Jalen Green | points | 14.5 | 14.0 | 45% | under 55% | |
| Chet Holmgren | pts+ast | 17.5 | 18.4 | 54% | over 54% | |
| Ajay Mitchell | rebounds | 3.5 | 3.5 | 46% | under 54% | |
| Devin Booker | pts+reb | 27.5 | 27.3 | 47% | under 53% | |
| Collin Gillespie | pts+reb | 12.5 | 12.5 | 47% | under 53% | |
| Miles Bridgesnew team | points | 14.5 | 14.5 | 47% | under 53% | |
| Chet Holmgren | pts+reb | 25.5 | 26.2 | 53% | over 53% | |
| Jalen Green | rebounds | 3.5 | 3.8 | 52% | over 52% | |
| Ajay Mitchell | assists | 3.5 | 3.8 | 52% | over 52% | |
| Isaiah Hartenstein | pts+ast | 11.5 | 12.0 | 51% | over 51% | |
| Isaiah Hartenstein | pts+reb | 17.5 | 17.6 | 49% | under 51% | |
| Chet Holmgren | points | 16.5 | 17.0 | 51% | over 51% | |
| Miles Bridgesnew team | pts+reb | 20.5 | 20.9 | 51% | over 51% | |
| Isaiah Hartenstein | points | 8.5 | 8.9 | 49% | under 51% | |
| Miles Bridgesnew team | threes | 1.5 | 1.7 | 51% | over 51% | |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | assists | 6.5 | 6.6 | 50% | under 50% | |
| Devin Booker | points | 22.5 | 22.9 | 50% | over 50% |