The Thunder were much better at home than on the road during the regular season, while Houston’s success dipped away from home. That should be enough to make Oklahoma City a slight favorite in this one, although the Rockets are certainly more talented and may be able to grab this one to take complete control.
Westbrook will need some help if Oklahoma City has plans to push the Rockets in this series.
This war on the floor will go down Friday, April 21, 2017, at 6:30 p.m. ET at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The game will be televised live on ESPN.
We'll have NBA odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the NBA Friday schedule.
NBA Odds
The Rockets have improved to 57-27 straight up but failed to cover last time out, falling to 43-40-1 against the spread. Houston is 24-16-1 against the spread as the away team, doing a nice job of surpassing expectations. The Rockets are 8-4-1 against the spread as the underdog on the season.
The Thunder is 47-37 straight up and 46-38 against the spread on the year. Oklahoma City has covered in 26 of 41 attempts at home and is an impressive 32-18 against the spread as the favorite on the year.
Check for the spread for Game 3, as it should be coming out soon. Oklahoma City will likely be a slight favorite, although it likely won’t be more than a couple points. The scoring total is going to be high once again with the Rockets in the matchup, since they play at such a fast pace.
Last Time Out
Westbrook stuffed the stat sheet in Game 2, scoring 51 points while adding 13 assists, 10 rebounds and four steals. While Westbrook was very good, it did take him 43 shots to get to that number and Oklahoma CIty lost, 115-111. Westbrook was a plus-11 while on the court, and the Thunder were a striking minus-15 in the seven minutes he was on the bench.
James Harden was more efficient, scoring 35 points on only 17 shots while contributing eight assists and four rebounds. The Rockets got 22 points from Eric Gordon off the bench and 21 from reserve Lou Williams, as their depth overwhelmed Oklahoma City once again.
The Thunder kept this one closer than Game 1, but Houston still won to take a 2-0 lead.
Player to Watch
Doug McDermott -- The Oklahoma City sharpshooter hasn’t played much in the first two games of the series, but did make the most of his chance last time out with 11 points in 14 minutes. He shot 4-of-5 from the field and hit three three-pointers to try to give Westbrook some help.
Victor Oladipo has played poorly in this series, and clearly Westbrook can’t do it all alone. McDermott may have earned himself some more minutes with the performance, and whether it is him or someone else, Oklahoma City badly needs another scoring option or two to step up.
Free NBA ATS Pick
The Thunder were much more competitive in Game 2, but are now in dire territory. They absolutely need a win or else Houston will cruise to the series win and into the second round. The worry is that Westbrook will press and put up too many ill-advised shots.
While Oklahoma City gets this one at home, the talent gulf between these teams is too big. Take the Rockets in a slight upset to take full control of this series by winning an entertaining affair. The “over” is the right play to go with the Houston victory.
NBA Odds: Rockets 120, Thunder 118
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