Don’t act like you’re surprised. The Houston Rockets and the Golden State Warriors are long expected to battle it out in this year’s Western Conference finals, and now, that has become a reality after both teams repulsed their respective second-round opponents. Will the Rockets steal a win in Game 1 in Oakland? Or will the Warriors keep on rolling?
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Betting Preview for Houston Rockets vs Golden State Warriors NBA Western Conference Finals Game 1 on May 14, 2018
Where: ORACLE Arena, Oakland
When: Monday, May 14, 9:00 PM ET
Line: Houston Rockets (point spread) vs Golden State Warriors (point spread) – view all NBA lines
TV Broadcast: TNT
Betting on the Houston Rockets (-2)
Chris Paul is finally headed to the conference finals. After years of coming up short, Paul is going to play in the third round of the playoffs after scoring 41 huge points in the series-clinching 112-102 win over the Utah Jazz at home on Tuesday. Paul also had 10 assists and buried eight 3-pointers. James Harden, meanwhile, only had 18 points on a salty 7-for-22 shooting. Expect the leading MVP candidate to get back into form against the Warriors, however. Harden played in two of the three regular season meetings with Golden State and averaged 24.5 points and 9.5 assists. In the playoffs, Harden is averaging 28.5 points. The Rockets had 18 3-pointers on Tuesday’s win over Utah, and they will look to be stay that hot from distance. Outside shooting has been a big part of Houston’s success and is expected to be a key factor for the team against the Warriors. Houston leads all playoff team with 14.1 3-ponters per game.
Houston is 2-0-1 ATS in its last three games in Oakland.
Betting on the Golden State Warriors (+2)
The Pelicans were like Houston in the sense that they also score a ton of points. But New Orleans’ offense was not enough for the Pels to stop the defending NBA champions. In the series-clinching win over New Orleans on Tuesday, Stephen Curry had 28 points with three 3-points, seven rebounds, and eight assists in 37 minutes. Kevin Durant, meanwhile, had 24. It’s the most minutes Curry has played since coming back from a long absence due to a knee injury. What that means is that the two-time MVP is back into his usual self, which is scary for the Rockets. With the Warriors in full strength, they’ll be a whole lot tougher to defend. The Warriors have averaged 113.0 points on 45.5 percent shooting from the field in the last four games. Curry averaged 23.3 points and 5.7 assists in three meetings with the Rockets back in the regular season, while Klay Thompson had 17.3 points.
The Warriors are hard to beat at home, where they are 6-0 SU and 3-3 ATS in their last six games there.
Writer’s Prediction:
Golden State wins, 116-111.
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