There’s no doubt that we’re in for a wild one out West, when the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets square off for the fourth and final time this season.
The Thunder have won the previous two meetings in this series and will also be entering this bout having won nine of their previous 10 games. The Rockets, meanwhile, are going to be the desperate team here as they’ll be aiming to overtake the Jazz, who currently hold a 1.5-game lead over them for the last playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Let’s now read on below for a complete breakdown of this showdown. And while you’re at it, check out our other game previews of the Trail Blazers vs. Warriors and Hornets vs. Cavaliers.
[sc:NBAArticles ]Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Houston Rockets Preview
Where: Toyota Center, Houston, TX
When: Sunday, April 3 2016, 3:30 PM ET
Line: Oklahoma City Thunder (-3) at Houston Rockets (+3); total: 222.0– view all NBA lines
TV Broadcast: ABC
Betting on the Oklahoma City Thunder (53-23)
After finally securing the No. 3 spot in the Western Conference thanks to Thursday night’s victory over the Clippers, the Oklahoma City Thunder can now start looking forward to the upcoming playoffs. But before that, they still need to take care of their six remaining regular-season games, and that includes this afternoon’s matchup with the Houston Rockets.
[sc:NBA250 ]Expect Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook or maybe even Serge Ibaka to sit this one out with the third seed already locked up for them. And if that’s indeed the case, the pressure falls on the pair of Enes Kanter and Dion Waiters to (hopefully) lead the team past the playoff-seeking Rockets.
Kanter is the Thunder’s fourth-leading scorer this season with 12.4 points and also holds a team-high of 7.9 rebounds. Waiters, meanwhile, hasn’t been productive lately, as he’s tallied just a total of 11 points in the past two games. But this could be a good chance for the former Cavaliers guard to start relocating his rhythm against the Rockets, who allowed him to put up 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting in their previous meeting a few days ago.
Over on defense, Steven Adams’ size and length will make it tough for the Rockets to penetrate the paint with ease. Adams, who is averaging just 7.8 points with 6.4 rebounds per outing, heads into this game fresh off a relatively solid performance (13 points, six boards and a block) in the win over the Clippers.
OKC is 6-4 SU and 5-4-1 ATS in its last 10 road games.
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Betting on the Houston Rockets (37-39)
Needless to say, James Harden will be looking to put on another show in this bout, and the Rockets really need him to do so and keep their postseason hopes alive.
Harden, the second-leading scorer in the league(28.5 PPG) , had a spectacular month of March, wherein he averaged sizzling numbers of 28.6 points, 6.4 rebounds and 9.5 assists through 16 games. The Rockets, though, only went 8-8 in that stretch, which also basically explains why they’re currently in a neck-and-neck race with the Jazz for the eighth playoff spot in the West.
Yes, Harden’s been doing the damage on offense with consistency and has also received enough support from his teammates in Michael Beasley (14.6 PPG) and Trevor Ariza (12.4 PPG) to be exact. But it’s clear that the team’s shot itself on the foot due to horrible defense. The Rockets are allowing 106.6 points per contest this season, the fifth-highest in the NBA.
Overall, the Rockets are bound to lose this game if they continue to giving up more than 100 points. If not, Harden and co. should be able to take down the Thunder especially if Kevin Durant or Russell Westbrook sits this one out.
Houston is 5-5 SU and 3-7 ATS in its last 10 games at Toyota Center.
Writer’s Prediction
If Westbrook and Durant don’t play, the Rockets are surely going to win this one. But if both do, OKC (-3) will emerge victorious and also cover the spread.
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[sc:NBA620 ]
