Warriors – Rockets

The Warriors will meet the Rockets for the 2nd time in 4 days. The Warriors won the previous meeting by 7 in Houston and will now host the Rockets at Oracle Arena.

Golden State (61-14, 31-4 home) is riding a 9 match winning streak and are coming after their most impressive win of the season – having beat San Antonio on the road, coming back from a 22 point deficit, on the second night of a back to back. That win two days ago against arguably the second best team in the league has proved to everybody that the Warriors are at the top of their game and are just as good, if not better, without Kevin Durant – who got injured a month ago, determining massive overreactions from media and fans.

The Rockets (51-24, 23-14 away) have lost their last two matches after previously riding a 4 game winning streak. Following their loss to the Warriors in Houston, the Rockets went on to lose by 10 points in Portland last night and really did not look good throughout that match. Now they have to face the Warriors on the second night of a back to back, at Oracle Arena, so this will be a very difficult task for them.

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It`s hard to agree with the bookies here, as the odds on the Warriors seem to represent excellent value, again. The price for a GSW win would have been 1.15 at the most with Durant on the court, but it`s as high as 1.30 without him, even though this team is proving to play even better in his absence – founding the groove they had last year when they went 73 – 9 before signing KD.

The Warriors are 7-1 ATS (against the spread) in their last 8 matches and that tells you all you need to know about how much they have been underrated since Durant got injured. The Warriors are playing the best basketball in the league right now and there`s no way the point spread should be lower than 10 – 12 points here.

They beat the Rockets by 7 in Houston a few days ago and it was easier than the score suggests. Golden State matches up very well against Houston, due to the fact that they have the best perimeter defense in the league and are the best at defending the 3 ball. As such, Houston, a team which through its perimeter offense, faces a big handicap when playing the Warriors and it has been proven in the last two meetings, which GSW won easily.

I have to cover the possibility of players getting rest, as that becomes a factor at this stage of the regular season.

It`s unlikely that Warriors will rest anybody. They have not played yesterday and will not play tomorrow. This is the biggest game they have left in the regular season, so it would make all the sense in the world to push for a win, virtually secure that 1st seed (they are 3.5 games in front with 7 games remaining) and then rest your guys. GSW released a statement saying that fringe player Jones will sit out tonight along with Durant, so normally that suggests everybody else will play.

Houston is actually more likely to rest players given the fact that they are back to back, they will finish 3rd in the West no matter what and Harden is currently nursing a sore wrist. I`m in no way counting on that though.

The Warriors are on fire, they meet a team against which they match up brilliantly and whom they just beat by 7 points away from home. Add the fact that Houston is back to back and Harden isn`t quite at 100%, and a blowout seems a real possibility.

My tip is Golden State to cover the 8 point handicap and I wouldn`t be surprised if the line goes up. With Steph Curry playing at MVP level and Klay Thompson hitting his shots from three, the Warriors can score 9 points on you in 30 seconds and shouldn`t have a problem covering the spread. Prediction: Golden State Warriors – Houston Rockets 117 – 98.

Pick: Warriors -8
Odds: 1.92 @ 1xBet
Stake: 9
Possible profit: 8.28
Event date: 1 April