Warriors vs. Rockets Point Spread: NBA Odds, Prediction
Most general managers in the NBA don’t harbour any illusions of beating out the Golden State Warriors for an NBA title as long as the Dubs have All-Stars Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green healthy and in their primes.
NBA Point Spread and Betting Analysis
No GM has been more aggressive in trying to dethrone the Warriors than Houston’s Daryl Morey. He nearly pulled it off last season as his Rockets were the West’s top seed and had a 3-2 series lead over Golden State in the conference finals. Alas, Houston didn’t have star point guard Chris Paul due to injury in the final two games and Golden State rallied to win the series on the way to its third title in four years.
On Thursday, the teams meet in Houston for the first time since Game 7 of that series, although Curry might not be playing and that changes Golden State. Plus, the Rockets aren’t what they were a season ago.
Houston did win the 2017-18 regular-season series over the Warriors 2-1. Should we expect plenty of points Thursday? The winning team in the regular-season series has scored at least 110 points in 11 of the previous 12 meetings.
The favorite is 5-1 ATS in the past six.
Golden State Warriors
While the Warriors have an unfair excess of talent, they just aren’t the same without Curry, the two-time MVP, current league leading scorer and arguably greatest long-range shooter in NBA history. Golden State was 17-14 in games he missed last season and 2-1 this year as he has missed the past three with a groin strain.
The Dubs also made national news Monday in a home loss to the Clippers when Kevin Durant and Draymond Green got into an argument on the bench that spilled into the locker room. Green was suspended without pay for Tuesday’s game as Golden State slipped past Atlanta. Green should be back here, but Curry’s status may not be known until a bit before tip-off. We lean toward him not playing and will predict a score accordingly.
Houston Rockets
Houston brought on former All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony this off-season in an attempt to get closer to the Warriors’ level, but that move flopped in a big way and Anthony has played his final game in Rockets uniform – missing the past three due to “illness.” He’s just not close to the same guy he was even two years ago. The Rockets have really turned up the defence in winning five of seven; they have allowed triple-digit points only twice in that span.
The Rockets were impressive 109-99 winners in Denver on Tuesday to get back to a game of .500; the team hasn’t been above yet this year.
