The Golden State Warriors began their title defense in fine style, beating the New Orleans Pelicans by 16 points on Opening Night. The defending champions now set their sights on a 2-0 start when they face the Houston Rockets in a marquee clash at Toyota Center later tonight.
Who will grab the edge in this Western Conference showdown? Read on below for an in-depth breakdown of this powerhouse matchup and while you’re at it, you can check out our NBA previews of Orlando vs. Oklahoma City and San Antonio vs. Brooklyn.
[sc:NBAArticles ]Golden State Warriors vs. Houston Rockets Preview
Where: Toyota Center, Houston
When: Friday, October 30, 2015, 9:30 PM ET
Line: Golden State Warriors (-1.5) at Houston Rockets (+1.5); total: 214.5 – view all NBA lines
Betting on the Golden State Warriors (1-0)
The defending champion Golden State Warriors picked up right where they left off last season, thrashing the New Orleans Pelicans, 111-95, in a one-sided contest at Oracle Arena Tuesday night. Stephen Curry exploded for 40 points on 14-of-26 shooting from the field in a rematch of the first round of last season’s playoffs, which Golden State swept 4-0.
[sc:NBA240banner ]The reigning MVP put on a shooting clinic by hitting seven of his first nine shots, with four 3-pointers, for an incredible 24 first-quarter points. His 40-point performance in this game was the second-highest point total by a reigning MVP in a season-opener since 1963-64, short of only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 41 on October 13, 1972.
He will look to sustain that excellent start when the Warriors take on the Rockets later tonight. Curry will fancy his chances of doing just that as he has fared extremely well against Houston of late. He averaged 31.2 points against the Rockets in the Western Conference Finals last season. The Warriors totally dominated the Rockets last campaign, winning eight of their nine meetings. The Warriors scored 115 or more points four times against the Rockets last season.
The Warriors will need to find a way, however, to beat the Rockets without their big man Andrew Bogut. The Australian suffered a concussion in the game against New Orleans and will be out for the foreseeable future. The pressure now is on Festus Ezeli to hold the fort for the Warriors frontline in tonight’s ballgame. He scored 13 points in 17 minutes of action in the season opener.
The Warriors are 5-2 ATS in their last seven road games.
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Betting on the Houston Rockets (0-1)
The Houston Rockets didn’t look like a team that was coming off a 56-win season as they suffered a humiliating 105-85 defeat to the Denver Nuggets on Opening Night. That marked the first time the Rockets have lost an opener by 20 or more points since 1982. James Harden paced the Rockets with 22 points, but made just 6 of 21 shots and was 2 of 12 from beyond the arc.
It wasn’t just Harden, though, who struggled from the field in this game. The entire Rockets lineup had a miserable shooting night against the Nuggets, knocking down just 34.5 percent of their field goal attempts. The onus then is on Harden to get his game going against the Warriors. He averaged 27.0 points against Golden State last season.
Help is on the way as well for the Rockets with Dwight Howard set to make his season-debut tonight. He missed the opener due to a one-game suspension stemming from being called for four flagrant fouls during the 2015 postseason. What Howard brings to the table tonight is his rebounding acumen. He led the Rockets in that department last season with 10.5 boards per game. The Rockets missed Howard’s presence underneath the basket in the game against the Nuggets as they were outrebounded by Denver, 49-44. Howard needs to impose his might against a Golden State side that hauled down 56 boards in its win against New Orleans.
Howard will fancy his chances of doing just that against a Warriors frontline that will be missing the services of Andrew Bogut. The Australian didn’t travel with the squad to Houston after suffering a concussion in the game against New Orleans. Bogut played a big part in holding Howard to an average of just 14.8 points in seven games last season.
The Rockets are 9-4 ATS in their last 13 home games.
Writer’s Prediction
Houston (+1.5) wins, 113-107.
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