The Golden State Warriors (75-17 SU, 52-39-1 ATS) have to be licking their chops. They have drawn the Houston Rockets (64-30 SU, 55-39 ATS) in the Western Conference Finals, a team which they have beaten four times this season, and they get Game 1 in their building with Houston having just one day to prepare for the series.
ODDS ANALYSIS
It shouldn't be surprising that Houston is a double-digit dog in this game. Granted, the spread wasn't that high when these two teams played in the regular season, but this is a special circumstance in which the Rockets are on short rest having to travel across the country off of a grueling series which required a ton of energy just to get past the Clippers.
The spread is set at Golden State -10, and the total is an understandably high 219.5, higher than any total these two had in any of their regular season meetings this year.
INJURY REPORT
Houston probably would have had a much better chance in this series if Dontas Motiejunas and Patrick Beverley were both in the lineup. Both have been long-term absentees though, and they won't play again this season.
Golden State will very likely once again be without Marreese Speights, who is battling a calf injury.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"It's the ultimately confidence booster. There's only a handful of teams that's done that. We fought back. We fought three really hard games and came away with it." – Houston guard James Harden on what it meant for the Rockets to come back from down 3-1 to beat the Clippers in seven games
BETTING TRENDS
- The Rockets are 0-5 ATS in their last five games against the Warriors.
- The Warriors are 2-6 ATS in their last eight home games, including going just 2-3 ATS in the playoffs to date at Oracle Arena.
- The UNDER is 6-1 in Golden State's last six games overall.
KEY STATS
15: The number of double-doubles which Dwight Howard has in his 18 career playoff games. He had three games with at least 16 points and 15 boards to end the series against the Clippers, and now he gets to line up against a team which had a tough time slowing down both Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph at times against Memphis.
16: This is the biggest lead which Memphis opened up in Game 2 against the Warriors. The Dubs have either led by more than 16 or trailed by more than 16 at some point in all but one of their playoff games thus far this year. However, seven of the 10 games have been decided by 11 points or fewer. Live betting against the team which is up huge in this series might be a good idea, especially after watching the Rockets erase a 19-point deficit in Game 6 against the Clips on the road to win by 12.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
There's something to be said about momentum, and we wonder if the Rockets are going to carry some of that with them to Oakland on Tuesday night.
Yes, it's a short turnaround, and yes, the Warriors are incredibly good, but the bottom line is that it has been very sharp to bet on Houston in each of these last five games in which it was a dog.
Being sharp doesn't always mean being a good play, but we trust Kevin McHale enough to get his team ready for this war ahead. The Rockets won't win it, but they'll keep this one to a single-digit defeat in Game 1.
Golden State 107, Houston 101
BookMaker opened the spread for this Tuesday game at Golden State -10 with a total of 219.5. Minute-by-minute spreads, totals and props are available for this game using the live betting platform at BookMaker.
Load your betting bankroll from your smartphone or tablet with BookMaker's new cashier feature! Depositing and withdrawing funds from your account has never been easier. BookMaker's live betting platform means you always have access to odds and lines to every sporting event. Click here, and start wagering today! The game between Houston Rockets and the Golden State Warriors will tip off Tuesday, May 19, 2015 at 9:00 p.m. ET at Oracle Arena in Oakland, CA. The contest will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.
