With Russell Westbrook questionable for tonight’s game, the Oklahoma City Thunder open as a home underdog against the visiting Houston Rockets. Both teams are on winning streaks as the Rockets have won three in a row in November after a terrible October, while OKC has won six straight games and has covered the spread in its last five.
- The Thunder are 6-0 SU in their last six games (avg. winning margin: 11.17).
- The Rockets are 6-1 ATS in their last seven games on the road vs the Thunder.
- The total has gone UNDER in four of the Rockets’ last five games vs the Thunder (avg. combined score: 217.8).
Rockets vs Thunder Game Center
Rockets Live and Die on the Perimeter
The Houston Rockets have some really good shooters, but playing the game primarily on the perimeter is a tough way to win basketball games – especially when you’re tied for dead last in the league in field-goal percentage and shots attempted inside the three-point line.
Houston leads the league with 41.9 three-point attempts per game but has only converted 33.4 percent of the time (24th). Eric Gordon is 23.6 percent from beyond the arc, Chris Paul is 29.5 percent, Carmelo Anthony is 36.2 percent and James Harden has a respectable mark of 43.1 percent.
That’s not a great matchup for the Rockets tonight as OKC has the No. 5 three-point defense – teams are converting just 32.4 percent of the time on deep shots against the Thunder.
With or Without Westbrook, Thunder Are Ok
With Russell Westbrook out with an ankle sprain in Cleveland on Wednesday night, 2013 first-round pick Dennis Schroder stepped up with 28 points and seven rebounds while shooting 58 percent from the floor. Primarily playing off the bench this season, Schroder is averaging 16.7 points in 28.7 minutes a night while shooting 42.7 percent.
So while he’s not going to replace Westbrook, Schroder has been more than a serviceable replacement for the OKC superstar. The Thunder will undoubtedly rely a little more on their defensive play without Westbrook (they scored just 95 points in Wednesday’s game), but will have plenty of opportunity to run their offense as they are coming up against the No. 27 offensive rebounding team in the Association.
My Pick for Tonight
Whether Westbrook is in the lineup or not, I like OKC to continue its ATS win streak against the Rockets. Houston is one of the worst bets in the league this season at 2-5 ATS in the last seven games.
When you look at the styles of these teams, OKC matches up very well against a Houston team that really isn’t all that interested in battling down low. If Houston’s poor shooting continues against a strong OKC defense, I like the Thunder to at least cover and potentially win this game straight up.
