Thunder vs Rockets: Preview, Trends and Prediction
The NBA’s Southwest division is starting to heat up as the Houston Rockets have won three straight, the Memphis Grizzlies four straight and the San Antonio Spurs six straight. The Spurs lead the division by 5½ games over the Rockets.
Tonight the Rockets host the Oklahoma City Thunder. Houston is 26-14 SU and 20-18-2 ATS. At home, the Rockets have won 15 of 20 games, while against the conference they are 14-11. Oklahoma City is 28-10 SU and 20-18 ATS. On the road, the Thunder has a record of 12-7.
James Harden faces his former team again tonight and has not done all that well against the Thunder since being traded in October of 2012. Harden will hope to have a better game tonight than the last time the two teams played head to head.
Harden and the Rockets are just 1-3 versus Oklahoma City during the regular season since he has played for Houston. In Houston’s lone win against Oklahoma City since then, Harden had 46 points last February. Oklahoma City also ousted the Rockets from the postseason last year in six games.
This season Harden is carrying the Rockets offensively averaging 24.6 points per game, but had his lowest scoring total of the season in the first game against the Thunder this season with eight points in a loss on the road 117-86.
However, since that loss, Houston has gone 5-2, including 3 of 4 on a recent road trip. Over those seven games, Harden is averaging over 29 points per game.
It seems only one player in the league is playing better than Harden since the New Year started and that happens to be an opponent tonight, Kevin Durant.
Over the past eight games for the Thunder, Durant is averaging just less than 35 points per game. However, the Thunder is just 3-5 in those eight games.
A big part of the Thunder’s problems of late is the loss of point guard Russell Westbrook. The talented guard injured his knee and will be sidelined for up to a month more.
Durant scored 37 in a loss on Tuesday to the Memphis Grizzlies and had 33 when the Thunder beat Houston the first time on December 29. That gives Durant 30 points scoring in five of his past six contests.
Last year in the playoff series between the two teams, Durant average 32 points per game and Harden averaged 26.
Since Westbrook’s injury, the Thunder is just 5-5. The Thunder however is 6-1 ATS over its past 7 games playing an opponent in the Southwest division. Oklahoma City is 5-1 ATS over its past 6 games versus an opponent that has a winning home record.
Over the past 7 games the Rockets have played against a team with a winning record, the UNDER is 6-1.
Over the last 7 games played between the Thunder and Rockets, the UNDER is 6-1.
Houston is currently favored in this matchup by 2.5 points with the point total for the over under sitting on 206. We like the Rockets and the OVER.
