The Houston Rockets finished the regular season with the best record in the NBA and are neck and neck with the Warriors as the team to beat in the playoffs. The Rockets will begin their journey in a matchup against the No. 8 seed Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the postseason.
Minnesota was fighting for a middle-of-the-road seed for much of the year but slid down in the standings late and had to knock off the Nuggets in the regular season finale to clinch a playoff berth. That may have taken a lot out of the Timberwolves and they have to rebound quickly to have a chance at being competitive in this series.
The Rockets will be heavy favorites to take care of business against Minnesota in NBA basketball wagering.
Game 1 of this NBA Playoff Series is on Sunday, April 15, 2018 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
We'll have NBA odds at BookMaker.eu available for every game of the 2018 NBA Playoffs.
Odds Analysis
The Rockets are heavy 11.5-point favorites in Game 1 of this series. Houston is getting more than 52 percent of the early action despite needing to cover by a substantial number of points. The Rockets are listed as -1200 on the moneyline while the T-Wolves are +755 underdog to pull out the upset in the first game.
The scoring total is listed at 216 points as both of these teams can really fill it up. The “over” has gotten about two-thirds of the action in NBA basketball totals.
The Rockets’ odds to win the NBA title are listed at +196 heading into the playoffs, which is the second-best mark behind only the Warriors.
Player To Watch
Jimmy Butler -- After Minnesota lost its star forward in late February to a knee injury, it looked for a while that the team’s playoff hopes had been dashed. But, he returned in the final three games of the season, just in time to save them.
Butler finished with 31 points in the Timberwolves’ 112-106 overtime win over the Nuggets to clinch the final spot in the Western Conference. This marks the first postseason appearance for Minnesota in 14 years.
Now that they’re here, though, the Timberwolves will need Butler more than ever. He averaged 21.3 points per game in this three games back from injury and, for Minnesota to have a chance, will need to continue to put up some big numbers in this series.
Previous Meetings
The Rockets won all four meetings between these two teams this season, including the most recent matchup on March 18th. Harden had a double-double in that game, propelling Houston to a 129-120 win.
The earlier season matchups were more one-sided as the Rockets defeated the Timberwolves 116-98 on January 18th and 126-108 on February 13th. The 120-102 win on February 23rd, however, was the worst of them all for the Timberwolves as that was the game Butler went down with the knee injury.
Despite the sweep, Karl-Anthony Towns played really well for Minnesota against Houston this year, finishing with 20 points and 18 rebounds in the latest meeting. The young center, who is averaging a double -double on the season, will be a big component in this series.
Free NBA ATS Picks
Many of the Western Conference first-round matchups could be must-see theater. However, the Rockets shouldn’t have much trouble against the Timberwolves. Take Houston to win this series in five games, as the Timberwolves may be able to win one game at home to avoid the sweep.
The spread is too high in the first game so take the Timberwolves to cover even though the Rockets will jump out to a 1-0 series lead in NBA basketball gambling.
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