NBA Betting? Mavs vs Rockets Predictions
The 2015 NBA Basketball Playoffs get underway Saturday and the Western Conference is stacked with good match ups. Stick with us for the entire 2015 NBA Basketball Playoff run.
NBA Basketball Odds
Rockets vs. Mavericks Odds To Win 7 Game Series: NBA First Round Series Prices Best of Seven 2-2-1-1-1
787 DALLAS MAVERICKS SERIES +205
788 HOUSTON ROCKETS SERIES -245Series:
Game 1: Saturday, Dallas at Houston, 9:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Game 2: Tuesday, Dallas at Houston, 9:30 p.m. ET
Game 3: Fri. April 24, Houston at Dallas, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Game 4: Sun. April 26, Houston at Dallas, 9:30 p.m. ET
*Game 5: Tue. April 28, Dallas at Houston, TBD
*Game 6: Thu. April 30, Houston at Dallas, TBD
*Game 7: Sat. May 2, Dallas at Houston, TBD
James Harden has consistently put the team on his back and stole wins away throughout the entire 2014-2015 campaign. The MVP Candidate now leads the charge has he hopes to avoid a first round upset when the Houston Rockets do battle with the Dallas Mavericks. The Rockets clinched the 2nd seed with their dominant play, especially at home. Dallas scuffled a lot after the all star break which dropped them down to the 7 seed in a crowded Western Conference.
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With both teams having the playoff experience, is it possible this could be an upset in the making first round? Or Will James Harden handle his business and move the Rockets on in their quest for a ring?
(7) Dallas Mavericks vs. (2) Houston Rockets
The Western Conference was just an absolute cluster throughout the entire 2014-2015 season. The 2-8 spots were consistently close and had teams bouncing back and forth. Houston bounced back and forth in a good way as they climbed up the standings and took out Memphis for the 2 seed in the Western Conference. The Mavericks did just the opposite as they struggled and battled some injuries as they fell to the 7 seed in the West.
Houston also had their share of injuries to deal with. The main injury came to C Dwight Howard, who missed a majority of games after the all star break. Howard came back with about a month to go and slowly regained his stamina and is now back to 100% for the playoffs. The Rockets also had to deal with Patrick Beverley and Donatas Montiejunas being out. Both will be out for the remainder of the 2014-2015 season which will hurt the Rockets in terms of depth.
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The main matchup will be with whoever is guarding James Harden. On the season, Harden averaged 27.4 points a game along with 7.0 assists. It’ll be tough to find someone to guard him as Rajon Rondo is too small, and Monta Ellis and Chandler Parsons just simply good enough to defend the guard.
For the Mavericks, Dirk Nowitzki is going to be the go to guy, as always. Nowitzki has the playoff experience under his belt, but will need some support if the Mavericks are going to have any chance. Dallas will need the likes of Jason Terry, Rajon Rondo and Monta Ellis to severely step up and score in this series. On the season, Dirk averaged 17.3 points and 5.9 rebounds.
Dwight Howard was told he should expect to play around 30 minutes or so per game this series. While obviously that could change if the game is close down the stretch, Houston will struggle with that as their depth at center lacks a lot. The back up to Howard is Joey Dorsey, who is averaging under 3 points a game. This means that Terrence Jones will need to step up on both ends of the floor. Jones averaged 11.7 points and 6.7 rebounds on the season.
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Chandler Parsons’ health remains a concern for Dallas as well. Parsons was acquired in the offseason from the Rockets, but he sat out the final 6 games of the season. He is expected to play and could be a wild card in this series as he averaged 13.3 points a game against the Rockets this season.
The Pick: Rockets in 6
This series won’t be easy for Houston by any means. Dallas has shown they have the capability to beat anybody, but Houston has them severely out talented.
If Dallas can find somebody to step and contain James Harden, then Dallas will have a chance at stealing a couple games and making this interesting.
The Mavericks will need to definitely take one of the first two games in the series and steal home court advantage right away.
At the end of it, Houston is just too good for Dallas and should have no problem handling their business and moving on.
Check out our Updated NBA Betting Odds.
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