For those of you on the East Coast, say "Ay!" if you bothered to stay awake for the Houston Rockets' (63-30 SU, 54-39 ATS) improbable run to win Game 6 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Los Angeles Clippers (63-32 SU, 44-50-1 ATS).
Funny, all I hear are crickets chirping.
Alas, one of the most improbable comebacks you'll ever see might have given live bettors a huge clue as to what could come down the line for the Rockets and the Clippers in Game 7 on Sunday.
ROCKET MEN NO MATCH FOR CLIP JOINT
Here's the bottom line that we took from Game 6: Houston is no match for LA.
Of course, we knew that after one game in this series when the Clippers beat the Rockets in Houston without Chris Paul in the lineup. Once CP3 came back, this wasn't supposed to be a series.
In fact, it was a series that was absolutely said and done with when LA took a 19-point lead late in the third quarter.
But here's what live bettors need to know about that huge comeback. The Rockets starters weren't the men who really got that all going. James Harden played a single minute in the fourth quarter, and he only shot 5-of-20 for the entire game. It was Josh Smith, Corey Brewer and Terrence Jones who were doing all of the damage late in the third and into the fourth, and they were doing so against the Clips and their starters.
If you believe that that's happening again in Game 7, I've got a bridge to sell you in California.
When Harden was on the court in Game 6, the Rockets were -21. Granted, +/- isn't always the best stat to use in the NBA, but here, there's a strong indication that Houston's best just aren't as good as LA's best.
In the three Los Angeles wins in this series, Harden was -16, -18 and -22 when on the court, proof that the team, which lost those games by 16, 25 and 33 points, wasn't all that bad when he wasn't out there.
The live betting tip here is quite simple: When you see nothing but starters on the court, it's time to fade the Rockets. When you see bench players with dominant roles, perhaps Houston should be in some consideration in live betting.
THIRD QUARTER STILL BELONGS TO LA
To us, this really is a matter of Kevin McHale getting outcoached by Doc Rivers, which shouldn't be anything considered all that surprising. Rivers is a champion in his own right, and he has been one of the best coaches of our generation.
The proof is in the pudding with halftime adjustments. The Rockets have done the following in the third quarters of this series: -11, -1, -18, -16, +7, -10.
That's a heck of a lot of good evidence that the Clippers are coming out of the blocks in the second half on fire.
It's also worth considering that the Clippers' starters have gotten as much rest at halftime as they are going to get for the entire game with the way that Rivers uses his bench. Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan have all logged well over an average of 38 minutes per game here in this series, and that's not a lot of actual time to rest in between plays.
That might be part of the reason why fatigue set in for Game 6 in the fourth quarter. Granted, the Rockets aren't going to get their bench players to set the world on fire as they did in Game 6 more often than not, but if there is a way to win this game and this series, it would be to simply outwork a very thin LA team which has been ridiculed for its paper-thin bench all season long.
That said, the third quarter is still LA's quarter, and that's certainly worth remembering when it comes time to live bet this game in the second half.
The NBA betting lines for this Sunday game were first available at BookMaker Sportsbook. The Clippers opened at -2, while the total surfaced at 220. Live wagering during commercials offers adjusted moneylines, totals and spreads. Log in and start gambling during the game now!
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook! The matchup between the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers will go down Sunday, May 17, 2015 at 1 p.m. ET at the Toyota Center in Houston, TX. The matchup will be televised live on ABC.
