Golden State took advantage of its opponent’s injury problems last season while winning the title. Now, the Warriors have to hope Stephen Curry’s injury isn’t too serious. They didn’t appear panicked in Sunday’s blowout of Houston, but there certainly is some anxiety moving forward.
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LETDOWN
When Stephen Curry was ruled out for Game 2 of the series, the line dropped five points, going from 13.5 to 8.5. The Warriors won the game, but oddsmakers know how important the soon-to-be two-time MVP is to the team. With Curry shelved for Game 3, the Rockets got a narrow victory to make the series exciting.
After believing they had already escaped the worst with Curry recovering from a right ankle sprain, the Warriors got another scare at the end of the first half of their 121-94 victory in Game 4 on Sunday. Curry lost his footing while trying to defend a desperation three-point attempt and took an ugly spill. He twisted and banged his right knee on the court, immediately grabbed it with both hands and hobbled off the floor. Curry is the reason why the Warriors are prohibitive favorites to win the championship, and his absence, no matter how long, provides hope for the rest of their challengers.
INJURIES
While all the injury talk on Sunday revolved around Curry, the Rockets suffered a potentially major hit when point guard Patrick Beverley strained his right leg in the second quarter and did not return. His status for Game 5 is unknown.
Curry is scheduled for an MRI when the Warriors return to the Bay Area. He was grimacing in pain after testing the leg prior to the start of the second half. Even if he gets the green light, it’s doubtful Curry plays given the edge the Warriors have over the Rockets. But, the injury looked bad and the body language from Curry and his teammates suggest this could be more serious than the ankle that forced him out of two games.
KEY MATCHUP
The Warriors felt bad for the reigning MVP, but instead of sulking about his injury, they responded in a big way. With Curry on ice for the second half of Sunday’s game, the other half of the Splash Brothers kept the three-pointers raining down. Klay Thompson made four of his seven three-pointers in the third as the Warriors made a franchise playoff-record eight in that quarter en-route to an NBA playoff-record 21. “I was trying to raise our level of intensity,” Thompson said.
With Curry out of the lineup in Game 2, Thompson picked up the scoring slack by dropping in 34 points in a 115-106 victory. He chipped in a team-high 23 on Sunday hitting 7 of 11 triples. “If we have that same emotion and intensity on Wednesday, we should be successful,” he added.
QUICK PICK
The rest of the Warriors stepped up when Curry went down, moving within a game of eliminating the Rockets for the second straight season. Houston rolled over on Sunday and seemingly can’t wait for the offseason to begin. With Sunday’s game tied at halftime and Golden State minus Curry, the Rockets were staring at a golden opportunity to tie the series and put a serious scare into the defending champs.
After what happened over the final 24 minutes of Game 4, the case could be made that the Warriors could’ve beaten Houston without the services of Curry for the entire game. Now, they might have no choice.
NBA Odds: Golden State 108, Houston 99
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Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here so start betting with BookMaker today! Bet on the NBA today as the Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors square off Wednesday, April 27, 2016, at 10:30 p.m. ET at Oracle Arena. The contest will be broadcast nationally on TNT.
