Fans and gamblers would be hard pressed to find a more attractive series in the first round of the NBA Playoffs than the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets. Not only is this a matchup of the four and five seeds in the Western Conference but there is the added intrigue of former OKC star Russell Westbrook now playing with the Rockets. Oklahoma City was one of the most profitable teams on the board as head coach Billy Donovan compensated for the loss of Westbrook with a team approach. Meanwhile the Rockets use the traditional NBA star system of Westbrook with three-time NBA scoring champion James Harden. This makes for a fascinating matchup of opposites.
This best of seven Western Conference playoff series will take place at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida. Tip-off for game one is scheduled for Tuesday, August 18, 2020 at 6:39 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on TNT. You can bet on NBA Odds at Bookmaker.eu for the remainder of the season.
Rockets vs. Thunder Series Schedule
Game 1: Tuesday, August 18, 6:30 p.m. ET, TNT
Game 2: Thursday, August 20, 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Game 3: Saturday, August 22, 6 p.m. ET, ESPN
Game 4: Monday, August 24, 4 p.m. ET, TNT
Game 5: Wednesday, August 26, TBD
Game 6: Friday, August 28, TBD
Game 7: Sunday, August 30, TBD
Futures Odds Analysis
The Rockets are a +1300 choice to win the NBA championship and +600 as the third choice behind the Lakers and Clippers in the Western Conference.
Meanwhile the Thunder are a +7000 choice to win the NBA championship and a +3300 pick to win the Western Conference.
In this head to head matchup the Rockets opened at -250 to win this series with the Thunder at +210. Houston’s Russell Westbrook is questionable for games one and two. Yet gamblers seem unconcerned based on Houston’s price.
Despite their near identical records, the Rockets are vastly more appealing to squares in the public based on the marquee men that are Westbrook and Harden. This helps explain why the Thunder were so profitable while the Rockets ended up in the red for the season. Sharps took full advantage of a good Oklahoma City team while squares were sucked in by the Westbrook and Harden fan-boy hype price tags.
Head to Head Results
Oklahoma City has dominated this head to head series with five consecutive payouts over the Rockets including nine covers in the last 11 games. Only one of the last eight meetings between these two teams have gone over the total.
Key Stats
Houston is the second ranked offensive team in the NBA but that is offset by a defense ranked 22nd in the Association. The Rockets have gone under the total in five of their last six games.
Oklahoma City is an opposite type team that ranks 20th for scoring offense but sixth for points allowed.
Players to Watch
Naturally James Harden was the Rockets leading scorer with 34.4 points along with 6.6 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game.
Russell Westbrook proved to be an excellent compliment to Harden with 27.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 7.0 assists per game. Westbrook has a quadricep issue that may keep him out of the lineup for the first game or two.
NBA Odds Pick
Oklahoma City is a live and dangerous dog in this matchup, especially if Westbrook is out for any length of time. As was mentioned earlier the Thunder have had the upper hand in this head to head series. They also have the defense that can at least slow down the potent Houston attack led by Harden. Houston is clearly overpriced here.
Prediction: Oklahoma City Thunder
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