Rockets vs. Thunder Betting Line – NBA Playoffs Round 1
Carrie Stroup here with your Bucks vs. Heat betting line for the NBA Playoffs Round 1. Bet this and all other NBA Playoffs games at Sportsbook.com here and claim your FREE $100 WAGER.
Sportsbook.ag Line & Total: Oklahoma City -10 & 213
Oklahoma City begins its defense of the Western Conference title when it hosts Houston for Game 1 of their first-round series on Sunday night.
The Rockets lost four of their final six games (1-5 ATS), capped off by a 99-95 overtime loss at the L.A. Lakers on Wednesday, to fall to the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference. The Thunder finished the season strong, winning 10 of their final 13 games (8-5 ATS) to earn the top seed in the conference. Although Oklahoma City crushed the Rockets in the first two meetings this season, winning 120-98 at home on Nov. 28 and 124-94 at Toyota Center on Dec. 29, Houston got the last laugh with a 122-119 victory on Feb. 20. The Rockets struggled all season on the road though, producing a 16-25 SU record (17-23-1 ATS, 43%) while allowing 103.9 PPG to host teams. The Thunder scored a hefty 108.5 PPG at home this season, tallying a 34-7 SU record (27-14 ATS, 66%) at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
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Houston's offense has been outstanding all season with 106.0 PPG (2nd in NBA) on 46.1% FG and 36.6% three-pointers (both 9th-best in league), knocking down 10.6 threes per game (2nd in NBA). Defensively, this team really struggles to stop opponents, allowing 102.5 PPG (3rd-worst in league) on 45.4% FG (14th-worst in NBA) and 36.7% threes (9th-worst in league). The Rockets generate 8.3 SPG (9th in NBA), but have the fifth-worst Ast/TO ratio in the league (1.47), as they commit a NBA-worst 15.8 TOPG. They do hit the glass pretty well though, with a +1.8 RPG margin (11th in league). SG James Harden (25.9 PPG, 5.8 APG) continues to carry the offense, and finished the season with 27.6 PPG, 5.8 RPG and 5.2 APG in his final five games. He pumped in 29.3 PPG (44% FG) and 4.0 RPG in three meetings with the Thunder this season. Harden had a great 2012 postseason when he played with Oklahoma City, scoring 16.3 PPG on 41% threes with 5.1 RPG and 3.4 APG. SF Chandler Parsons (15.5 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 3.5 APG) appears to be over his calf injury that kept him out of action at the end of last week. He's logged 42.5 MPG in the past two contests, producing a healthy 23.5 PPG on 58% FG (4-of-11 threes) with 5.0 APG and 4.0 RPG. He hasn't been particularly sharp in two games versus Oklahoma City though, scoring just 13.5 PPG on 39% FG with 5.0 RPG and 4.5 APG. PG Jeremy Lin (13.4 PPG, 6.1 APG) will be making his postseason debut on Sunday, as he was unable to play for New York in the 2012 playoffs because of an injury. Lin's confidence should be pretty high after putting together a strong month of April with 17.3 PPG (44% FG, 36% threes), 6.9 APG and a 2.70 Ast/TO ratio. He'll have his hands full with Russell Westbrook, but Lin's offense has been strong in the season series with the Thunder where he has 14.0 PPG (49% FG) and 7.3 APG. C Omer Asik (10.1 PPG, 11.7 RPG) has averaged a double-double versus Oklahoma City with exactly 10.0 PPG and 10.0 RPG, and he's been a rebounding machine all month with 12.4 RPG in nine April games.
Like Houston, Oklahoma City possesses an outstanding offense, scoring 105.7 PPG (3rd in NBA) on a remarkable shooting accuracy of 48.1% FG (3rd in league) and 37.7% threes (also 3rd in NBA). The Thunder also have a strong defense that surrenders 96.5 PPG (10th in league) allowing a paltry 42.5% FG clip (2nd-best in NBA) and 34.6% threes (6th-best in league). And also similar to the Rockets, Oklahoma City commits a ton of turnovers (14.6 TOPG, 5th-most in NBA), but does a nice job of cleaning the glass with a +2.9 RPG margin (5th-best in league). SF Kevin Durant (28.1 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 4.6 APG) has been outstanding in his playoff career with 28.1 PPG (47% FG), 7.7 RPG and 3.2 APG over 43 career postseason games. He enters his fourth playoff season red-hot, averaging 26.1 PPG (57% FG, 53% threes), 7.9 RPG and 6.4 APG in seven April games. He also had his way against Houston this season with 26.3 PPG (47% FG), 7.0 RPG and 5.7 APG. PG Russell Westbrook (23.2 PPG, 7.4 APG, 5.2 RPG) has been even better in the season series with 23.3 PPG, 8.3 APG and 7.7 RPG in the three meetings. Even with logging a mere seven minutes in a meaningless regular-season finale against the Bucks, Westbrook still averaged 23.6 PPG, 6.0 APG and 4.9 RPG in April. PF Serge Ibaka (13.2 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 3.03 BPG) has been very consistent all month, scoring in double-figures in the first seven games of April before logging just eight minutes on Wednesday. He's been outstanding versus the Rockets this season with 16.0 PPG (65% FG), 8.7 RPG and 4.0 blocks per contest. SG Kevin Martin (14.0 PPG) has been dealing with a minor back injury, but he's probable to play against his former team on Sunday. He didn't shoot very well against Houston this season (41.5% FG), but still scored 17.0 PPG in the three meetings. Martin hasn't played since April 11, but he was certainly on the mark that night, scoring 23 points in just 19 minutes, hitting 8-of-10 shots and 4-of-5 threes.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
