The Houston Rockets are known for their breakneck offensive pace – but they've made their bones on defense as they look to take a 3-0 series lead over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday night in the Orlando bubble. The Rockets have looked terrific on the defensive end so far, limiting the flummoxed Thunder to an average of just 103 points through two games.
- Date/Time: August 22, 6 p.m. ET
- Arena: HP Field House
- TV Coverage: ESPN, ATTSN-SW, FSOK
- Sportsbook Odds: Rockets -2.5 | O/U 224 (Line History)
- Rockets vs Thunder (Matchup Report)
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
The Rockets opened at -2.5, but can now be found as high as -3.5 in some spots. The total of 224 has held steady from the start.
Houston News & Notes
When you win both the offensive rebound and turnover battle, the chances are good that you'll come away with a W – and that formula worked wonders for the Rockets in Game 2. Despite struggling from 3-point range, Houston cruised to victory thanks largely to 13 offensive rebounds (compared to 10 by the Thunder) and just seven turnovers (compared to OKC's 14).
Offensively, the Rockets are on a record-shattering run of 3-point attempts. Houston put up an NBA postseason-record 56 3s in Game 2, giving them 108 tries over the first two games of the series (they've made 39). Look for books to increase the 3-point O/Us for just about every Houston player – especially James Harden, who is 8-for-24 from deep in the series.
Oklahoma City News & Notes
How do you counter a team that attempts more than 100 3-pointers over the first two games of your best-of-seven? Taking better care of the basketball is a great place to start: Oklahoma City coughed it up nine times in the pivotal third quarter of Game 2, and those struggles contributed to a 13-0 Houston run in the quarter, which ended up being the final margin of victory.
Much more is needed offensively if the Thunder are going to avoid getting swept – and it starts with the superstar point guard. Chris Paul is averaging 17.0 points but just 5.5 assists so far, and is hitting just 33.3 percent of his 3-point attempts. His struggles are a big reason why the Thunder have just 10 more assists than turnovers through the first two games.
Betting Pick: Rockets SU (-160)
Billy Donovan will have the Thunder ready to compete in Game 3, while the Rockets have been taking a lot of 3s but not necessarily making a lot of 3s; we like Houston to win, but our faith in a cover isn't nearly as strong.
- Houston is 2-5 ATS in its last seven games vs. OKC.
- The OVER is 4-2 in Oklahoma City's last six games.
- The UNDER is 10-4 in the last 14 meetings between the teams.
