The Golden State Warriors visit the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center on Thursday, 11/15/18.
The teams return to the place where last season’s Western Conference Finals was decided but instead of a rematch between last season’s Western Conference finalists, this game is being labeled as that between two superpowers involved in controversy.
The Warriors are of course in the news for the verbal tussle between teammates Draymond Green and Kevin Durant two games ago.Meanwhile, the Rockets are hitting headlines with the situation involving Carmelo Anthony. Whoever puts their distraction aside probably wins this game.
The Warriors are no strangers to personal issues. Last season, the Dubs admitted they went through some off court trials which they overcame to win their third NBA title in four seasons. This time around, the drama in the Bay Area came from Draymond Green and Kevin Durant who exchanged unpleasant words during the Dubs’ OT loss to the Clippers two games ago. That incident resulted to Green getting suspended during the Warriors’ most recent game against the Hawks. Green is expected to play in this game, making the situation in Golden State interesting.
Stephen Curry leads the Warriors in scoring with his 29.5 point scoring average bolstered by 5.2 three point makes per game. But the Dubs’ two time MVP has missed the team’s last three games with a left abductor strain and is likely to be out for at least 10 more days. WIthout Curry, Kevin Durant has upped his scoring average to 30 points per game in the three games without Curry.
Klay Thompson has also averaged 26.33 points per game in the Dubs’ last three outings. Thompson opened the season starting to shoot the three ball but he’s picked up the slack lately. Thompson has shot 40% from behind the arc in his last five games and he’s scored at least 20 points per game in their first six games of November.
The Rockets acquired Carmelo Anthony last summer in the hopes of adding more firepower to their offense. The Rockets lost shooter Trevor Ariza to the Phoenix Suns in free agency but Melo was supposed to offset Ariza’s lost offensive production. But not only did Anthony struggle with his role coming off the bench, the Rockets’ as a team struggled as they tried to incorporate him to their plans.
On Tuesday, Anthony missed his third straight game with a reported “illness”. Despite the status, sources are confirming that Anthony is away because he and the Rockets are “trying to reach and understanding with his role moving forward”. In short, Melo is likely on his way out and the Rockets are just figuring the how.
The Rockets enter this game with a renewed confidence as they are coming off back to back wins over strong starters in the Pacers and Nuggets. Their defense is slowly getting there while their offense has been clicking, making a season best 20 triples versus Indiana and shooting 54.6% from the floor against Denver. The Rockets look to build on those big wins with a bigger one against the Dubs.
The Houston Rockets lead the all-time series between these two teams at 121-92 but the Warriors have won seven out of the last 10 games. However, the Rockets won last season’s series 2-1 including their latest meeting on January 20, 2018 at 116-10 in Houston.
The Dubs are 3-2 SU in their last 5 games and are 4-2 SU in their 6 road games this season. On the other hand, the Rockets are also 3-2 SU in their last 5 games played and are only 1-4 SU in 5 home games this season. Head to head, The Warriors have won 4 out of the last 7 meetings between these teams. The Warriors are 5-1 SU in the last six meetings played in Houston.
The Rockets have rediscovered their old form and have won five out of their last seven games. The Warriors will still be without Steph Curry and they will be playing the Rockets on the road. Obviously, Curry’s absence is a big factor here but with Draymond Green expected to return, the Warriors should be out to prove that whatever happened is in the past now. This is a team with tons of experience and a lot of character. I think the whole issue has been over blown by the media. Durant and Green may be at odds personally but both are professionals and world champions. They will come out to do the job against the Rockets.
Even without Curry, the Warriors are very formidable with KD and Klay Thompson doing most of the scoring damage. Harden and Paul are starting to find their mark but the Warriors should have enough to win this game at this stage of the season. You don’t get the Warriors as underdogs often. In fact, this is the first time this season that they have been pegged as dogs.We’re picking the Golden State Warriors to beat the Houston Rockets on 11/15/18.
The Warriors are 8-7 ATS in 15 games this season and 2-4 ATS in six road games played this campaign. The Rockets are 5-8 ATS in 13 games played this season and 1-4 ATS in five home games this season.
The Dubs are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games against teams from the Southwest Division, 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games against Western Conference rivals and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games against teams with a losing home record. Meanwhile, the Rockets are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games against Pacific Division teams and 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games against Western Conference teams. Houston is also just 1-4 ATS in their last five games played on a Wednesday.
The Warriors are 16-5 ATS in their last 21 games in Houston. Sure, you can argue that Steph Curry played in most games but this isn’t the same Rockets team as last season. This one’s playing better but not yet there. I’ll take the plus points and the visitors here. Prediction: Warriors +1.5
The over is 8-7 in the Warriors’ 15 games this season but the over is 5-1 in their six road games played this season. Meanwhile, the total has gone under in 7 out of the 13 games played by the Houston Rockets and the over is 3-2 in the Rockets’ five home games so far this season. Head to head, the under is 7-3 in the last 10 meetings between these two teams, including 5-0 in their last five games played.
The Rockets are having their offensive problems early in the season, shooting just 42.6% from the floor (29th in the league) and scoring just 103.2 points per game (28th in the league) but they have netted an average of 112 points in their previous two games (which they won). The Warriors meanwhile are playing without their leading scorer in Stephen Curry but have averaged 114 points without him. The Rockets’ struggles and Curry’s absence are deceptive. These teams can still put up numbers when they’re in their element. Prediction: Over 220
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