Thunder look to stop five game skid to the Rockets
Lost in all the hoopla of the success of Golden State and San Antonio is the third best team in the West, Oklahoma City.
The Thunder are 35-13, five back of the Spurs and four clear of the Clippers. It’s unlikely the Thunder will run down the
Spurs or drop below the Clippers so just 50 games into the season, the Thunder is basically treading water till the playoffs.
One team that has had their number of late is the Houston Rockets who have won five straight in the series including the
only meeting this year, a 110-105 decision to the Rockets in Houston on November 2nd. The line opened at OKC -7.5 with
the total 223. The number has moved to the Thunder -8 with the total dropping to 221.5 at this writing.
It’s been a disappointing year to this point for the 25-23 Rockets. The season started with a 4-7 run out of the gate that cost
HC Kevin McHale his job despite getting the team to the Western Conference finals last year. The team has fared somewhat
better under interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff but is often prone to lackadaisical play like the 130-99 blowout loss at San Antonio
in it’s last. The Rockets feature former MVP James Harden (27.5, 6.2, 6.9) and chronic malcontent Dwight Howard (14.4, 12.0).
This is a talented team with depth top to bottom and has to be considered an underachiever at this point.
Oklahoma City is the forgotten team in the West and the only real opposition to a Warrior/Spurs Western Conference final.
With Kevin Durant (27.0, 7.9, 4.6) in his walk year and Russell Westbrook (24.1, 7.2, 9.8) not far behind, the future is now for
an OKC outfit that will likely be broken up if they are unable to break through this year. Serge Ibaka (13.0, 6.7) is still and excellent
player in the paint and a proven shot blocker. Enes Canter is a productive (11.6, 7.5 in just 20 min ppg. albeit overpaid big man
that came over as a free agent in the summer.
Houston has won three of four, is 6-4 in it’s L10 but just just 3-7 in it’s L10 as a road dog. The Rockets are just 10-12 on the road
(9-13 ATS) this year and 7-10 overall as a dog. The Thunder have won nine of ten and 16-3 in their L19. They’ve covered five straight
as a home favorite but are just 5-14 ATS in games where the total was 210 or greater and just 4-12 ATS in games after allowing
105 points or more. The lack of consistency from both teams and the series history makes playing the side or total dicey at best.
This might be a good one to just grab a pizza and beer and watch the up and down.