The overwhelming favorites in the Western Conference at the start of the season were the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets. Golden State has won three of the last four titles and they have been a juggernaut in the Western Conference. They were odds-on favorites per the NBA betting odds to win both the Western Conference and the NBA Championship at the start of the year and remain that way.
Houston was the team considered to be the most likely to put their run to an end. The Rockets finished with a better regular season record than the Warriors last year, and they got the chance to host them in the Western Conference Finals. Houston went up 3-2 in the series before getting blown out on the road in Game 6 and the Rockets blew a 15-point lead in Game 7 by going 1-21 from three-point range in the second half.
This regular season tilt between Western Conference foes will take place on Thursday, November 15, 2018. Tip-off will take place at 8 p.m. ET from the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The game will be broadcast on TNT.
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Odds Analysis
There has been no line released for this game as NBA betting odds generally come out the night before the game. This article will be published on Wednesday, so there are no basketball betting lines available at this time.
Key Injuries
The Warriors are still without Steph Curry, but they expect to have him back soon. He has missed Golden State’s last three games due to a groin injury, and the team has lost the best three-point shooter the league has ever seen without him in the lineup. Fortunately, Shaun Livingston is back after missing some time due to a foot injury and Draymond Green will return from a one-game suspension.
As for the Rockets, they could be without Gerald Green for this one. Green has missed some time due to an ankle injury, but he is listed as day-to-day and head coach Mike D’Antoni has said he could be available. PJ Tucker and Clint Capela recently returned from injury, and both players played significant minutes against Denver on Tuesday.
Storylines of note
Golden State and Houston are both dealing with internal issues ahead of this one. The Rockets believed that Carmelo Anthony could help push them over the top this offseason, and Houston added Melo to help challenge Golden State. However, his playing style did not mesh with Houston’s at all, and his poor shooting led to the team cutting him after just a dozen games.
Things are more precarious with the Warriors. This is a locker room that has been very harmonious over the last four years even with some superstars on the squad, but that might be changing soon. Draymond Green and Kevin Durant got into a heated argument on the bench on Monday night and it carried over into the locker room after the game, leading to Green’s suspension. There will be plenty of folks wondering whether this could cause the team to implode from within.
Matchup to Watch
This will be the first meeting between these two teams of the season, and on the court one of the big questions is whether or not Houston will continue to have problems scoring. The Rockets have been one of the best offenses in the league for the past few seasons under Mike D’Antoni, but they have been below average this season with an offensive rating of 105.9, a rating that ranks outside of the top 20 in the NBA.
Golden State has a pretty decent defense and the Warriors can close out on three-point shooters with guys like Livingston and Andre Iguodala on the perimeter.
Live Betting Preview
The interplay between KD and Draymond will be the main story in the early going. The Warriors have always responded well to situations like this over the past four years though, and Steve Kerr is one of the best at managing players. I expect Golden State to circle the wagons and blitz a Houston team that has had some real issues on the court.
NBA ATS Pick: Warriors 119, Rockets 105
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