The Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets have been on a crash course for months. Now it’s official: The two best teams in the NBA will face off with a Finals berth on the line. The Rockets will host the Warriors in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. This will be the start of one of the most anticipated series in years.
Golden State is the defending champion and has the super team which features the likes of Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson. But it was the Rockets who finished far ahead of the Warriors for the best record in the NBA and counter with stars like James Harden, Chris Paul and Clint Capela.
The Warriors have been the team to beat in the NBA for several years but it seems like the Rockets have a chance to give them a really tough fight. This series will kick off in earnest soon as all eyes will be set on Houston for this titanic clash in NBA basketball wagering.
Game 1 of this NBA Playoff Series is on Monday, May 14, 2018 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The contest will be nationally televised on TNT.
We'll have NBA odds at BookMaker.eu available for every game of the 2018 NBA Playoffs.
Odds Analysis
The Rockets are listed as 2.5-point favorites to win Game 1, which means the oddsmakers basically believe these teams are even. Houston gets the slight nod because of the home court advantage.
The scoring total should be out soon and is expected to be extremely high. The moneyline will make Houston a slight favorite to win straight up.
The series price has not yet been released. It will be very interesting to see which team is favored to win this series in NBA basketball odds.
Key Stat
112.4. That’s the number of points per game the Rockets averaged during the regular season, which was second in the NBA. The first place team, of course, was the Warriors, who put up 113.5 points per contest. Both of these teams have an embarrassment of riches on the offensive end of the court but they do it in different ways.
The Warriors can run their offense through a number of different players, led by Durant and Curry. Thompson is a marksman and the team’s ball movement is its greatest strength. It’s hard to guard Golden State because it boasts so many shooters and willing passers when a better shot is available.
The Rockets, meanwhile, base their offense on Harden, who is a magician on the pick-and-roll and one-on-one drives to the lanes. If the Warriors can figure out a way to slow down Harden they will have a great chance at winning this series.
Season Series
These teams faced off three times in the regular season and the Rockets claimed a pair of them. They won the season opener against Golden State by a score of 122-121 as a potential game-winning shot by Durant was let go moments after the buzzer sounded.
The Warriors evened up the season series with a 124-114 victory in early January as Green led the way with a triple-double. Houston finished with the 2-1 win head-to-head by claiming a 116-108 win on January 20 behind 33 points from Paul.
Free NBA ATS Picks
There aren’t many teams that can stick with the Warriors shot-for-shot, but the Rockets are one of them. This is stacking up to be a classic series between two great teams. While Houston has the home court advantage, in the end the Warriors have too much depth.
Golden State is the pick to win this series, although the Rockets will push them to six games in NBA basketball gambling. The Warriors will head to the NBA Finals once again in search of yet another championship.
NBA ATS Pick: Warriors in six games
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