Bet Online NBA - Nick At Night
If the Oklahoma Thunder is going to win and cover their sports betting hoop game Monday against the Memphis Grizzlies they will need a huge game from one of the forgotten heroes on the team, Mr. Nick at Night, Nick Collison.
Since the beginning of 2011 Preakness Betting when starting forward Serge Ibaka is nursing a very sore ankle, Collison has to step up and play quality minutes when he is inserted into the potent line-up.
The Thunder had a 13-point lead going into the sports betting bonus fourth quarter on Saturday but the Grizzlies stole their thunder away outscoring them by that exact margin to force overtime.
Memphis was down 11 with just over 7 and a half to go in the fourth quarter but they put on a 15-2 spurt to go ahead and take a slim lead.
When it comes to charity in the NBA, the hearts of the players are big and Memphis proved how big Saturday going 7 for 10 from the charity stripe in the final minute.
For a team that looked dead in the water, Memphis really rallied around Serge Ibaka, who may not be 100% Monday and that is why Collison will be important.
For the record, Ibaka had 14 points, 8 boards and 6 blocks and only Kevin Durant played more minutes than the player from the Congo, who can not only jump out of the gym, but can hit the mid-range jumper consistently.
With just over 3 minutes left in the third quarter, Ibaka had to be helped off the court when again hurting his ankle but he only stayed in the locker room for a short time before re-entering the game.
His warrior mentality was on display for all in person and his quotes after the game. Ibaka: “It was very important for my team to win that game. So I tried to play sore. I know I won’t die. It’s just sore, it won’t kill me. That’s it. It’s the playoffs man. This is not the regular season where you’re hurt a little bit and take off. No, no, no. This is the playoffs. You need to leave everything on the court.”
As for Collison, the 6-10 forward who played his college ball in Kansas, he chimed in with 6 points 2 boards and a steal on Saturday but what he gives to his team doesn’t always show up in the boxscore.
He plays tenacious defense, makes few mental mistakes and he takes very good shots as he hits with nearly 59% of his shots from the floor.
This is the type of ‘glue guy’ that a team needs when the going gets tough. Collison is not the gifted athlete that Ibaka is, but he helps in other ways and if Serge is less than 100%, expect Collison to be a huge reason why the Thunder will make amends for blowing the lead on Saturday.
Lastly, file these stats away when handicapping Monday’s game.
During the regular season, OKC was 6-0 when holding a team to less than 40% shooting from the floor. They were 31-6 when they spread the ball and had more assists than their opponent and 16-2 when Ibaka had 4 blocks or more.
They will likely be getting 2 and a half or three points on Monday and they have a shot to win the game outright.
