On Wednesday, April 23rd, the Houston Rockets will look to even up their first-round series with the Golden State Warriors. Houston is the second seed in the Western Conference, but this seventh-seeded Golden State team looked like the better squad in the series opener. Now, it’s time to see how the Rockets respond at the Toyota Center.
Keep reading for Warriors vs. Rockets odds and predictions, and make sure you come back to VSiN throughout the course of the NBA Playoffs. We’ll have previews of every single series and daily best bets/player props. We’ll also have betting trends and insights from our analytics guru Steve Makinen. Of course, we’ll also be talking about all of this on our live programming too! It’s a great time to be a VSiN subscriber, so make sure you check out our $59 Summer Special. That’ll give you full access to everything we have to offer until August 1st!
How To Watch Warriors vs. Rockets
Where: Toyota Center in Houston, Texas
When: 9:30 pm ET on Wednesday, April 23rd
Channel: TNT
Warriors vs. Rockets Odds
(Odds from DraftKings Sportsbook and accurate as of Wednesday, April 23rd at 11:30 am ET)
Moneyline: Rockets -155, Warriors +130
Spread: Rockets -3 (-110), Warriors +3 (-110)
Total: Over 204 (-110), Under 204 (-110)
Warriors vs. Rockets Prediction
The Warriors stole home-court advantage with a 95-85 win over the Rockets in Game 1. Stephen Curry was sensational in that one, scoring 31 points and hitting some absolute daggers from deep when Houston was trying to battle back in the second half. Jimmy Butler was also awesome for Golden State, finishing with 25 points, seven boards, six assists and five steals in the game. Now, the Rockets will have to find a way to defend both, as their season pretty much depends on it. Houston can’t afford to travel to the Bay down 0-2 in the series. So, I’m expecting an extremely strong effort defensively from the Rockets, and I’d be surprised if we don’t see a better offensive performance than we did in Game 1.
Realistically, it’s just hard to imagine a scenario in which Fred VanVleet and Jalen Green will combine for 17 points on 7 for 34 shooting from the floor and 2 for 17 shooting from 3 again. Sure, both players have their issues when it comes to efficiency, but they are definitely capable of doing better than that — especially at home. I’m particularly interested in seeing how Green responds. The Rockets tried to set Green up with isolation opportunities against Curry in Game 1, but that just wasn’t working. Green was settling for terrible shots. But the 23-year-old should be able to respond here. He just needs to be a little more aggressive in looking to attack the rim. If he can get himself going as a driver, that should give him the confidence he needs to start knocking down jumpers.
Houston is also capable of shooting better than 6 for 29 from 3 as a team, and the group is definitely capable of shooting better than 11 for 20 from the free throw line again. And some real improvements in both categories should put the Rockets in a much better position down the stretch.
As far as the defense goes, it’s a little hard to imagine Curry and Butler going a combined 22 for 38 from the floor again. Obviously, both players can turn it on and light opponents up in the postseason, but this Houston team has capable defenders for both players. We have seen Amen Thompson do great work chasing Curry around and making life difficult on him, and I think we’ll see more of that throughout this series. I also like the Rockets’ size and strength on the wing when thinking about Butler. It might not have looked pretty in Game 1, but there’s no reason they can’t figure it out in Game 2. Ime Udoka is a great defensive coach and will have some adjustments here.
You’d also have to think that Brandin Podziemski is due for some regression in Game 2. He had 14 points, eight rebounds and five assists in Game 1, and he ended up being a +17 in 35 minutes of action. I like Podziemski as a player, but he’s not the type of guy that should be swinging playoff games on the road.
Houston has also been great at responding to shaky performances under Udoka. With him on the sidelines, the Rockets are 9-4 straight-up when coming off an upset loss at home. They’re also 18-8 when coming off a game in which they scored 100 or fewer points.
Bet: Rockets ML (-155 – 1.5 units)
