The advantage of rest could loom large Friday night as the Los Angeles Lakers kick off their Western Conference second-round series with the Houston Rockets. The top-seeded Lakers have oddsmakers squarely in their corner after they dusted the Portland Trail Blazers in five games, while the Rockets needed every second of their seven-game series with Oklahoma City to prevail.
- Date/Time: September 4, 9 p.m. ET
- Arena: The Arena (WWOS)
- TV Coverage: ESPN
- Sportsbook Odds: Lakers -6 | O/U 225.5 (Line History)
- Rockets vs Lakers Matchup Report
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
The Lakers opened as 6-point favorites, but that edge has grown to -7 in most spots. The total has also risen from 225.5 to 226.5 at the majority of sportsbooks.
Houston News & Notes
You know what you’re getting from the Mike D’Antoni-led Rockets: three-pointers, and a lot of them. Houston averaged an incredible 51 attempts from long range in the series win over the Thunder; the eliminated Brooklyn Nets are the only postseason team within 10 of the Rockets. The Rockets are also one of the most responsible teams with the basketball, averaging just 12.0 turnovers vs OKC.
At the core of this Houston offense is scoring champion James Harden, who averaged 29.7 points and 8.0 assists against the Thunder. Those marks are similar to his regular-season numbers vs the Lakers (29.0 ppg, 8.7 apg) – and so, too, is his three-point success rate, which was just 32.0 percent against L.A. and 31.3 percent in seven games against Oklahoma City.
Los Angeles News & Notes
The Rockets will face several serious tests from a Lakers team that overcame a Game 1 blip to roll over the Trail Blazers and advance to Round 2. Primarily, Houston’s small lineup will struggle mightily to contain Lakers big man Anthony Davis, who averaged 29.8 points and 9.4 rebounds against Portland while shooting a blistering 57.3 percent from the floor.
There’s also the matter of corraling LeBron James, who earned some much-needed rest both during and after the Portland series. The 35-year-old played fewer than 33 minutes per game but still averaged a triple-double with 27.4 points, 10.2 rebounds and 10.2 assists. Look to his points/rebounds/assists prop Friday as he aims to make a statement in Game 1.
Betting Pick: Lakers -7 (-110)
Los Angeles is the top-seeded team in the West for a reason – and unless the Rockets can hit on better than 40 percent of their three-point attempts, a rested LeBron and AD should pick them apart en route to a comfortable Game 1 win.
- Houston won 2 of 3 meetings during the season.
- The Lakers are 4-10 ATS in their past 14 games.
- The UNDER is 10-4 in Houston’s last 14 games.
