Watch out, NBA. The Golden State Warriors are hitting their groove. The NBA title favorites have won 12 straight games to take over the league’s best record and will aim to keep it rolling in a nationally televised matchup against the Houston Rockets.
While Houston is off to a nice start this season, no one in the league has the firepower to stick with Golden State when its shots are falling. The Rockets will need to play perfect offensively to hang in this one but that’s a tall order, especially on the road. The Warriors should be a comfortable favorite in this showdown.
Don't miss the hardwood action from Oracle Arena at 10:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, December 1, 2016. Catch every moment of the game live on TNT.
We'll have NBA odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the NBA Thursday schedule.
Odds Analysis
The Warriors are 16-2 straight up and 9-8-1 against the spread. Golden State has been favored in every game this season and is 4-4 attempting to cover at home. The Warriors are so good that they will need to consistently blow out opponents in order to cover spreads.
The Rockets are 11-6 straight up and an impressive 12-5 against the spread this season. Houston has covered in nine of 11 road games and will aim to keep that going here. The Rockets are 4-2 against the spread as underdogs this season.
Player to Watch
James Harden - The Warriors have an extremely talented starting lineup and great depth. Houston doesn’t have the same thing, but Harden is a superstar.
He has excelled in Mike D’Antoni’s free-flowing offense, averaging 28.9 points, 12.2 assists and 7.4 rebounds per game. The Rockets don’t have a great supporting cast but Harden is in the early MVP discussion and is carrying his team to lofty heights.
Harden won’t be totally shut down by Golden State but if the Warriors can slow him it would make it tough for Houston to pull the upset. Klay Thompson could get the call as he is one of the team’s best wing defenders.
Key Stat
53.9 - That’s how many points per game Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry are combining to score per game. The team lost a pair of early games as the duo worked out how to jell on the court but now it seems to be all systems go.
The elite scoring tandem in the NBA, Curry and Durant are matchup nightmares. Durant leads the team with 27.2 points per game and adds 8.2 rebounds per contest. He is shooting 57.4 percent from the field and 44.6 percent from three-point range.
Stephen Curry is averaging 26.7 points and 6.1 assists per game. Curry is shooting 50.2 percent from the field and 42.5 percent from three-point range. Golden State can put stress on a defense with its great shooting and this duo has unsurprisingly led the way.
Free NBA ATS Picks
The Rockets are playing well after a down 2015-16 season and hope to rejoin the Clippers as a second-tier team in the West. They aren’t on the same level are the Warriors or the Spurs, but also has enough talent to hang around when the shots are falling.
Houston can be suspect defensively at times and must hustle on that end of the court or risk a blowout by the Warriors. These are two of the highest-scoring teams in the NBA and this should be an entertaining affair.
Golden State excels against teams which struggle defensively so expect it to put on a show and run away with the win by double digits. Check in to see the scoring total as it will be a high over/under once applied.
NBA Odds: Warriors 121, Rockets 110
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