Western Conference Semi-finals Game 2
The Houston Rockets and the Golden State Warriors are the best teams in the NBA, and that was made clear in Game 1 of the Western Conference semi-finals.
Houston and Golden State are simply a cut above the rest. Utah had the second-best defensive rating in the regular season and playoffs, but they still ended up losing by double-digits against the Rockets.
New Orleans, despite surprising betting websites with their first-round sweep of online gambling favourites Portland, were basically outclassed by the star-studded Warriors.
Indeed, betting odds favour the two juggernauts to win again; and their opponents undoubtedly need lady luck to smile on them if they want a shot at beating the league’s true heavyweights.
New Orleans Pelicans @ Golden State Warriors (May 02, 10:30 GMT+8)
Defence has been the key for the Warriors in winning Game 1. Stopping Anthony Davis wasn’t easy—Portland failed in that aspect—but Golden State managed to limit The Brow to just 21 points on 20 shot attempts.
Also, it wasn’t only Davis who had a hard time scoring against the Warriors. First-round sensation Jrue Holiday made only 11 points on 4-of-16 shooting, this after averaging 27.8 points per game against the Blazers.
With the way the Warriors are playing on both ends of the floor, it looks impossible for the Pels to beat them. Not to mention that Steph Curry is reportedly ready to play after missing the last five weeks due to injury.
And sure enough, I don’t need to mention how scary the Warriors’ offence is when Curry is on the floor. Who needs defence when you can drop 120-plus points on your opponents, right?
Choose Golden State -11.00 @ 2.02.
Utah Jazz @ Houston Rockets (May 03, 08:00 GMT+8)
There are a few things we learned in Game 1 of the Utah-Houston matchup: (1) the Rockets are scary when they are hitting their shots; (2) they are not that scary when they are not hitting their sots; and (3) the Jazz are no fluke.
Houston led by as much as 27 early in the game after showing the marksmanship and defence that rolled them to a 65-win season. However, it was a different story in the second half as the Jazz slowly cut the deficit all the way down to 11 in the fourth quarter.
The Rockets are still the better team, and they have more tools with Chris Paul, Clint Capela, Trevor Ariza, Eric Gordon and P.J. Tucker at their disposal. Nonetheless, if the Jazz locked in on defence right from the start, it could be a more thrilling game.
I don’t think the Rockets will lose at home, though I expect more rugged defending that would lead to a low-scoring affair. With that said, go for Under 206.00 @ 2.06.
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
