Warriors Welcome Red-Hot Rockets
Steph Curry and the Warriors will look to halt Houston’s 8-game winning streak.
The Golden State Warriors will look to avoid a regular season sweep Thursday as the red-hot Houston Rockets arrive in Oakland.
Tip-off at Oracle Arena is scheduled for 10:30 p.m. ET.
After flirting with top spot in the Pacific Division earlier in the season, Golden State (32-22, 16-10 home) currently finds itself in a dog fight for a Western Conference playoff berth.
With 28 games left on the docket, the Warriors join a quartet of teams battling for what appears to be three postseason berths.
The Phoenix Suns (32-21), Dallas Mavericks (32-23), and Memphis Grizzlies (30-23) are currently in the race with the Warriors, while a sustained push by either the Minnesota Timberwolves (26-28) or Denver Nuggets (24-28) could cloud the waters further.
At this stage, winning has become a necessity for Mark Jackson’s side.
Winning hasn’t come easy of late though. The Warriors are just 8-9 in their last 17 contests, a record that has seen the team’s postseason stock trend downwards.
Jackson’s side did pick up a win in its return from the All-Star break Wednesday, dropping the Western Conference-worst Sacramento Kings 101-92 on the road. Now the Warriors will look to defeat the Rockets on Thursday.
Houston (37-17, 15-10 road) arrives in Oakland unbeaten in eight, the NBA’s current longest winning streak. Kevin McHale’s side is 16-4 since January 1, a record that has seen the side trending in the opposite direction to the Warriors.
The Rockets currently sit 2.5 games back of the San Antonio Spurs in the Southwest Division, and with the division leaders currently crocked by injury, the Rockets stand a good chance of overtaking their instate rivals, providing the form book holds up.
The form book has certainly held up against the Warriors in recent years.
Houston has won seven of its last eight meetings with Golden State, and has taken 19 of the last 22 head-to-head showdowns, including both games played this season.
The Rockets pummeled the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday, emerging from Staples Center with a 134-108 victory. Those 134 points marked a season high offensive output for the Rockets.
The victory marked the first time this season that Dwight Howard and Co. had been victorious in the first game of a back-to-back. The bad news for Golden State is that the Rockets are 5-0 in the second game.
Golden State is likely to be playing without center Andrew Bogut, who has missed the last five games with a shoulder injury. That should open up the middle for Howard, who has averaged 20 points and 14.5 rebounds against the Warriors this season.
The Warriors announced Wednesday that they had made a trade for Lakers point guard Steve Blake, sending Kent Bazemore and MarShon Brooks south to Los Angeles. Blake, who is expected to add a veteran presence behind Stephen Curry, may be available for Thursday’s nightcap against the Rockets.
Houston Rockets vs. Golden State Warriors odds for 02/20/2014
Despite Houston’s recent dominance over Golden State, the Warriors opened as the favorite in that one. The lines could well switch though as betting gets underway.
Houston has gone 9-2 in its last 11 trips to the Bay Area, including wins in both matchups a season ago.
The spread opened at 2.5.
Houston (28-23-3 ATS) has fared better against the spread this season than Golden State (24-28-2 ATS) and looks a good bet to cover in this one.
The Warriors have gone 8-15-0 ATS in their last 23 games at home, and have covered just once in their last six meetings with the Rockets. Houston meanwhile has covered in six of its last eight, and in both meetings with the Warriors this season.
The over/under opened at 212.5.
Both Golden State (23-30-1) and Houston (24-28-2) have favored the under this season, although they’ve split the over/under in this year’s head-to-head matchups.
The under is looking like the smart bet.
The total has gone under in eight of Houston’s last 11 road games, and five of Golden State’s last seven home games. It’s also gone under in six of the last nine head-to-head meetings between the sides.
That being said, the total has gone over in 12 of the last 16 games played between the sides at Oracle Arena.
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