For all intents and purposes, the Western Conference Finals are over with. It really feels like it is only a matter of when, and not if, the Golden State Warriors (78-17 SU, 53-41-1 ATS) finish off the Houston Rockets (64-33 SU, 57-40 ATS). Game 4 is almost certainly the last time Rockets fans will see their team at home, and there are a lot of signs which suggest that their lasting memory won't be a pretty one.
THE OLD SWITCHERAROO
Stephen Curry has been amazing here in the postseason, and he has most certainly proven that he was a worthy MVP winner, especially over James Harden. However, his running mate and fellow Splash Brother, Klay Thompson, has been nothing to write home about.
In the first two games of this series, Thompson was the man matched up with Harden on the defensive end of the court. The second-place vote getter for the MVP finished those games with a total of 66 points, 21 boards and 18 assists.
We've said throughout these playoffs that Steve Kerr might be the best coach in the league when it comes to making changes on the fly, and he made the switch that he needed to make when it mattered the most.
Instead of letting Thompson guard Harden for the most part in Game 3 as he did in Games 1 and 2, he put either Andre Iguodala or Harrison Barnes on Harden. Yes, both of these men are significantly slower than Harden is, which allowed for the risk of Harden just getting to the basket whenever he wanted to do so in isolation.
What is also did though, was frustrate the 6-foot-5 guard. Sure, he ended up getting to the foul line 11 times for the game, but he only shot 3-of-16 from the field and 1-of-5 from beyond the arc. That really slowed down the whole Houston offense, and the end result was the worst beating at home in the history of the franchise in the playoffs.
Live bettors really need to be aware of who is on the ball when Harden has it in his hands at the top of the key or who is picking him up on fast breaks. Clearly, the bigger, longer, lankier bodies are the ones who are frustrating him the most, and we would be willing to bite with live betting on Golden State if we saw any of those body types religiously guarding Harden if he can't make adjustments on the fly.
GOLDEN STATE GOING FOR THE KILL
Killer instinct. These Warriors have had it all season long. They just don't blow leads. They're now 55-0 in games this season when they have led by at least 15 points at some point during the game. Yes, they almost blew Game 2, but they ultimately did what they had to do in order to finish the game off.
Now they're in a position to finish this series off as well, which is exactly what the Dubs did to both New Orleans and Memphis in prior weeks.
There are common threads in each of those games which live bettors should pay attention to. In both games, the Warriors got out of the blocks in good shape (31-24 1st quarter vs. New Orleans, 32-19 first quarter vs. Memphis), and in both games, they played fantastic defense in the second half (44 points allowed vs. New Orleans, 46 points allowed vs. Memphis).
Houston hasn't really run into a team yet with this type of a killer instinct, and we think it is going to show when it comes time to face these Warriors in Game 4.
With the way that Curry has shot the ball and the ferocity of the defense in these games played late in series, Golden State should definitely be worth watching in live betting if Houston starts to lag behind and show a lack of heart as we have seen in the past.
The NBA betting lines for this Monday game were first available at BookMaker Sportsbook. The Warriors debuted at -4.5 alongside a total of 214. 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 Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets will go down Monday, May 25, 2015 at 9 p.m. ET at the Toyota Center in Houston, TX. The matchup will be televised live on ESPN.
