The most interesting of the three NBA first-round playoff games scheduled for Wednesday night tips off in Houston at 9:30 p.m. ET.
The Rockets (2) will look to avenge a Game 1 loss to the Warriors (7) to avoid falling into an 0-2 hole before the series heads to San Francisco for Games 3 and 4.
It’s interesting to note that the odds to win this series have moved dramatically following a Warriors win in Game 1 in which the Rockets scored just 85 points on 39 percent FG shooting.
At FanDuel, the Warriors’ odds to win the series have improved from -166 to -340. At DraftKings, GSW has gone from a -190 pre-series favorite to -380 entering Game 2.
The Rockets’ series odds have moved from +138 to +275 at FanDuel (and from +155 to +300 at DraftKings).
Warriors vs. Rockets Odds: Spread, ML, Total
The Warriors, like the Timberwolves in their series against the Lakers, enter Game 2 as road underdogs despite being heavily favored to win the series.
| DK | FD | bet365 | |
| GSW spread | +3.5 (-108) | +3 (-106) | +3.5 (-110) |
| HOU spread | -3.5 (-112) | -3 (-114) | -3.5 (-110) |
| GSW ML | +136 | +138 | +140 |
| HOU ML | -162 | -164 | -165 |
| Total | 204 (o-110; u-110) | 204.5 (o-112; u-108) | 204.5 (o-110; u-110) |
How to Watch Warriors vs. Rockets
- Tipoff: 9:30 p.m. ET
- Channel: TNT/truTV/Max
Best Warriors vs. Rockets Player Props
Jimmy Butler Over 28.5 Points + Assists (-115 at bet365) — 1 unit
The “Playoff Jimmy” talk is probably starting to get old for anyone who isn’t a fan of his. Still, is there a player we should trust more than Jimmy Butler right now?
Butler’s counting stats over the last couple weeks speak for themselves, but it’s his consistently high usage rate that makes his points, assists and points + assists (P+A) props all hard to resist on a nightly basis.
Including the play-in game, here’s Butler’s points, assists, P+A, FG shooting and usage numbers in Golden State’s last five contests:
| Points | Assists (P+A) | FG (%) | Usage Rate | |
| vs. SAS (4/9) | 28 | 7 (35) | 5/8 (62.5) | 18.7 |
| vs. POR (4/11) | 24 | 2 (31) | 6/10 (60) | 23.0 |
| vs. LAC (4/13) | 30 | 9 (39) | 12/20 (60) | 26.2 |
| vs. MEM (4/15) | 38 | 6 (44) | 12/20 (60) | 32.3 |
| vs. HOU (4/15) | 25 | 6 (31) | 10/19 (52.6) | 26.8 |
Butler averaged just 11.1 FGA per game in 30 regular-season games with Golden State, but in three straight massive games for his team, he’s taken at least 19 shots from the floor. He’s also taken 61 (!) free-throw attempts in his last five games.
Butler has easily exceeded 28.5 P+A in five straight games, which makes this prop tempting tonight, even at -115 odds. It’s hard to imagine Butler’s role shrinking as he continues to give Steve Kerr an excellent complement to Stephen Currry, so let’s continue to cash in on Butler’s props while they’re based on his regular-season numbers and not his massive current “Playoff Jimmy” role.
Warriors vs. Rockets Pick, Best Bets
There were a few key questions about the Rockets that made them underdogs in this series:
- How would this young roster hold up in the playoffs, especially against a veteran opponent like Golden State?
- Could Houston’s halfcourt offense be effective if it was unable to get out in transition?
We’re admittedly basing these conclusions off a small sample size, but so far, both Houston’s inexperience and its difficulty in the halfcourt look like major problems against the Warriors.
Jalen Green (7 points on 3-for-15 FG shooting) and Amen Thompson (8 points on 4-for-9 FG) both struggled to get going in Game 1. Houston ended up with just 85 points despite a huge night on the offensive glass, as it turned 22 offensive rebounds (ORB rate: 42.3 percent) into 22 second-chance points.
The Rockets, who are the No. 1 offensive rebounding team in the league, should be able to consistently win this battle. But 20-plus second chance points is not something they should be counting on every night against a Golden State team that finished the regular season just outside the top 10 in defensive rebounding.
Based on the law of averages, the Rockets will get more than four fast-break points, and they’ll likely shoot better than 6-for-29 from 3-point range, but I still don’t see Houston scoring effectively enough tonight to even the series.
Warriors vs. Rockets Injury News
No Warriors players have an injury designation entering this game.
The Rockets will be without reserves Jock Landale and Jae’Sean Tate, but they are otherwise healthy.
Warriors vs. Rockets Best Bets:
- Warriors +3.5 (-108 at DraftKings) — 1 unit
- Rockets Team Total Under 103.5 (-104 at FanDuel) — 1 unit
- Warriors ML (+140 at bet365) — 0.5 units
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