Golden State Warriors vs. Houston Rockets Preview
Where: Toyota Center – Houston, TX
When: Friday, January 20, 2017, 8:00 PM ET
Line: Golden State Warriors (-5) vs. Houston Rockets (+5); total: 236.5 – view all NBA lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
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Betting on the Golden State Warriors (36-6)
It’s been one heck of a three-day stretch for the Dubs. After emphatically avenging their Christmas day loss to the Cavaliers on Monday, 126-91, they man-handled Russell Westbrook and the Thunder this past Wednesday, 121-100. Kevin Durant, for the second time this season, had another monster game against his former team, scoring a season-high 40 points on an impressive 13-of-16 shooting.
The Warriors have now gone 9-1 since that defeat to the Cavs three weeks back. During that span, they are putting up 119.8 points and 32.3 assists per game, while also shooting 51.7 percent from the field, all of which are higher than their league-leading averages for the season.
Friday will be another tall task, though. You can bet that they haven’t forgotten their 132-127 double OT loss to the Rockets in early December. As high-scoring as it was, the Warriors actually shot a season low 41.3 percent for the game, as the Splash Brothers – Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson – were a combined 13-for-42.
Moving forward, the two-time defending West champs are still boasting big-time stats. With their three-headed monster in scoring – Durant, Curry, and Thomson – who are powering together for 72 points per contest, the team is owning the top spot in the offensive efficiency rankings.
More than that, they are also the number one-ranked defense overall, thanks to allowing the second-lowest field goal percentage (43.2 percent) and recording the most steals (9.5 SPG) and blocks (6.3 BPG) in the league.
The Warriors are 16-3 on the road this season (7-11-1 ATS).
Betting on the Houston Rockets (33-12)
The Rockets are in a bit of a slump as of late, as they are only 2-3 in their last five games, with two of those losses coming from teams that are over a dozen games below .500 – Wolves and Heat.
The good thing, however, is that they are coming off a dominating win before facing the mighty Warriors (111-92 over the Bucks).
Also, James Harden and company should have no shortage in confidence when facing their West rivals. In their aforementioned matchup over a month ago, seven Rockets were able to reach double figures. “The Beard,” of course, led the way with a triple-double (29 points, 15 rebounds, and 13 assists), followed by Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon, who both had 20-plus points and combined for nine big treys.
Offensively, this team is arguably the most equipped squad in the league to go toe-to-toe with the Dubs on any given night, which was very much proven during their previous meeting.
Through Harden’s top-notch offensive skillset and head coach Mike D’Antoni’s run and gun style of play, the Rockets are leading the NBA in threes (14.8 per game), and they are right behind the Warriors in points (114.2 PPG) and assists (25.6 APG).
The Rockets are 7-1 in their last eight games at home (4-4 ATS).
Writer’s Prediction
Houston (+5) wins, 126-123.
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