Rockets vs Thunder NBA Handicapping
So here’s what you can expect tonight in Oklahoma City when the Thunder try to close out the Houston Rockets in Game 5 of their Western Conference playoff series:
Western Conference
Houston Rockets (1-3) at Oklahoma City Thunder (3-1)
Wednesday, May 1
Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City
9:30 p.m. EST
Spread – Thunder -8.5 at Bovada
O/U – 207.5
ATS Matchup Stats | Gambling Insight!
Check out our in-house Handicapper!!! Buy Razor Ray’s NBA Picks Today!
- James Harden will shoot for the Rockets. A lot. With Jeremy Lin apparently hurting, the offense will go through Harden all night.
- Houston’s Patrick Beverley will be booed every time he touches the ball, after the Game 2 incident which led to Russell Westbrook’s season-ending injury.
- A lot of 3-pointers will be fired up. Both teams figure they can do a lot of damage from the perimeter.
That this series is 3-1 OKC and not 2-2 can be attributed directly to a 12-minute first period in Game 3, when for some reason that has not escaped the Houston locker room, the Rockets were outscored by 39-19.
That godawful stretch allowed the Thunder to withstand a late Houston run and enabled OKC to take a 3-0 series lead.
CLICK GRAB OUR BEST Expert NBA Picks for 2013 HOOPS GAMBLING season!
Game 4 – Houston 105, OKC 103 in the third consecutive tight game in the series – has kept this thing alive for another night, but now the Thunder appear ready to call an end to festivities, close this one out and allow the good people of Oklahoma to do whatever it is they do between Thunder games.
OKC went 34-7 at home this season and didn’t lose back-to-back at Chesapeake all season, so it’s hard to envision the Rockets putting it all together tonight, Friday night back in Houston and in a Game 7 back in OKC on May 5. [ad-6571516]
But the longest journey starts with a single step, and Houston needs to keep the Thunder from going nuts early in this one and see what happens late.
Easier said than done, especially with cornerstone Kevin Durant lighting it up for the Thunder. “No need to panic,” Durant said after Houston kept things going with its Game 4 win. Durant has been averaging a Wilt Chamberlain-like 39.5 points since Westbrook went down, and the Rockets can expect more of the same tonight.
Houston, meanwhile, would love to get another eye-opening game like the one Chandler Parsons turned in in Game 4 – 27 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists. And even that might not be enough.
FREE NBA PICK
The Rockets carriage turns into a pumpkin tonight as OKC rolls into the conference semifinals. Reggie Jackson has been more than adequate as Westbrook’s replacement, so any edge Houston had at that spot has evaporated. Plus, Lin is playing in pain and has been a liability. OKC to cover the 8.5 as the crowd goes nuts.
