NBA Knowledge
Indiana-Toronto
Toronto lost its last five first round series; last time they won a first round series was 2001- they got upset 100-90 here Saturday, turning ball over 19 times, going 4-19 on arc, so pressure on them to even series before it heads to Indy. Raptors won seven of last nine games with Indiana; Toronto has covered nine of last 11 series games- six of last nine went over total. Pacers won seven of last nine t overall, four of last five on the road. Raptors won seven of last ten games overall, covering five of last eight.
Dallas-Oklahoma City
OC was up 59-33 at half in Saturday's rout; Thunder won last five games with Dallas, but Mavericks are 6-5 vs spread in last 11 vs OKC. Seven of last ten series games went over. Dallas won seven of last ten games, covered four of last six as a dog- Eight of last ten Dallas games stayed under total. Mavericks shot 29.8% in big loss Saturday, 4-18 on arc. Thunder was 12-35 on arc. Every west Game 1 saw favorite win by 20+; dogs were 3-1 vs spread in east.
Houston-Golden State
Curry's ankle is only question here; he played very little in 2nd half of huge rout Saturday; was it a precaution? Golden State won 10 of last 11 games (7-4 vs the spread) against Houston, covering last six played here. Rockets won three of last four games, are 3-2 vs spread in five tries as an underdog. Warriors won by 26 in first game Saturday, leading 60-33 at half, have to question whether the Rockets want to compete- they shot 36% from floor, 12-24 on line, 6-22 on arc.
Playoff tally: Favorites vs spread: 6-2, Over: 2-6
Armadillosports.com
Monday's NBA Playoffs Betting Preview
By Covers.com
Indiana Pacers at Toronto Raptors (-7, 193.5)
All-Star forward Paul George and the Indiana Pacers delivered the opening salvo and look to make it two consecutive road victories when they face the Toronto Raptors on Monday. George poured in 33 points in Saturday's 100-90 victory and Indiana attempts to continue the playoff woes of the Raptors.
Second-seeded Toronto hasn't won a playoff series since 2001 and has dropped its last seven postseason games, which includes last season's four losses to the Washington Wizards. "As a team, as a whole, I thought we were tight," Raptors coach Dwane Casey told reporters. "I know our team did not play to our identity, but I know we'll come back Monday night and play to our identity." The seventh-seeded Pacers plan to ride the coattails of George in this series and he is intent on making a mark in his first postseason appearances since badly breaking his right leg in the summer of 2014. "Paul's shot-making at the end of the game was spectacular," Indiana coach Frank Vogel told reporters in reference to George's 27 second-half points. "It's been a long road for him in terms of actually getting back to the court but before his injury, we were in the conference finals."
LINE HISTORY: The Raptors opened as seven-point favorites at home and the spread has yet to move off the opening number. The total opened at 193 and was adjusted slightly to 193.5. View complete line history here.
ABOUT THE PACERS (46-37, 42-40-1 ATS, 37-46 O/U): George said after the Game 1 victory that he is still working on getting to be as strong physically as he was prior to the devastating injury that required an arduous recovery. "Some days I felt great, felt like I could have started that night," George told reporters. "Some days I wanted to throw it all in, let Mother Nature heal it without doing any work. It was a little bit of both." George (4-of-5) and shooting guard Monta Ellis (3-of-4) were strong from 3-point range in the opener and Indiana was 11-of-21 overall.
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (56-27, 45-38 ATS, 42-40-1 O/U): Game 1 was filled with offensive inefficiency as Toronto shot 38 percent from the field and committed 20 turnovers that led to 25 Indiana points. "We just missed some shots and turned the ball over," All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry told reporters. "Now there's a series of adjustments we have to do in one day. It's one game. This is not last year. We're very positive, we're very confident." Lowry was just 3-of-13 shooting, All-Star shooting guard DeMar DeRozan was only 5-of-19 and center Jonas Valanciunas - who set a franchise playoff record with 19 rebounds - was just 4-of-14.
TRENDS:
* Pacers are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 vs. Eastern Conference.
* Raptors are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games following a straight up loss.
* Under is 6-1 in Pacers last 7 Conference Quarterfinals games.
* Over is 6-1 in Raptors last 7 games following a double-digit loss at home.
* Pacers are 2-10 ATS in the last 12 meetings.
Dallas Mavericks at Oklahoma City Thunder (-13.5, 200)
The Oklahoma City Thunder put together an immaculate performance in the series opener and look to outclass Dallas again when they host the visiting Mavericks on Monday. The Thunder rolled to a 108-70 annihilation of Dallas on Saturday in what was the franchise's largest margin of victory in a playoff game since relocating from Seattle to Oklahoma City prior to the 2008-09 campaign.
The third-seeded Thunder missed the playoffs last season and came out with a vengeance against the Mavericks as if they had a point to make. "We just wanted to come out and impose our will early," All-Star forward Kevin Durant told reporters. "We didn't want to ease into the game. We wanted to be the aggressor. We came out and did a good job." Sixth-seeded Dallas set dubious franchise playoff records for fewest points scored and worst field-goal percentage (29.8 percent) in a truly woeful showing. "I guess the only positive I take out if this - it's only one game," power forward Dirk Nowitzki told reporters. "If you lose by two or by 50, in the playoffs, it's only one game. We've got another crack to steal one on Monday night. We've got to play harder, we've got to play better. It's as simple as that."
LINE HISTORY: Oklahoma City opened as 13-point favorites but that line was quickly bet up to -13.5. The total opened at 202 and the public jumped all over the under, forcing the books to drop the number a full two points to 200. View complete line history here.
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (42-41, 45-37-1 ATS, 39-43-1 O/U): Point guard J.J. Barea has been one of the team's better players this month but his availability is in jeopardy after he aggravated a groin injury during the second half of Game 1. "I'm very, very concerned," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle told reporters. "I think something happened. I don't think it's just tight." Nowitzki scored 18 points on Saturday and the rest of the starting lineup combined for just 12 points on 5-of-25 shooting as guards Deron Williams (1-of-9), Wesley Matthews (3-of-10) and Barea (1-of-6) were unable to get untracked.
ABOUT THE THUNDER (56-27, 38-44-1 ATS, 39-44 O/U): Point guard Russell Westbrook (24 points and 11 assists in 29 minutes) and Durant (23 points in 26 minutes) were productive as usual but Oklahoma City also received a strong performance from power forward Serge Ibaka, who had 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting to go with nine rebounds and three blocked shots. Ibaka has struggled recently and went 1-of-12 from the field in his final regular-season appearance but was a much different player in the assault of the Mavericks. "When he's knocking (down shots), it opens it up for us on the offensive end," Durant told reporters. "Then guarding Dirk is tough. He made it tough on him all night. He was helping off, protecting the rim, spreading the floor. He was good, but we need him to be better next game."
TRENDS:
* Mavericks are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 Conference Quarterfinals games.
* Thunder are 9-2 ATS in their last 11 games vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
* Under is 6-1 in Mavericks last 7 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
* Under is 5-1 in Thunder last 6 vs. NBA Southwest.
* Under is 6-2 in the last 8 meetings in Oklahoma City.
Houston Rockets at Golden State Warriors (-13, 218)
The Golden State Warriors looked every bit like the best team in the NBA in Game 1 of their first-round series but did not come out of the 26-point victory with all positives. The Warriors hope to have star guard Stephen Curry (ankle) available when they host the eighth-seeded Houston Rockets in Game 2 on Monday.
Curry scored 24 points in 19 minutes in Game 1 but rolled his right ankle and barely played in the second half as the Warriors cruised to a 104-78 win. Coach Steve Kerr called him “questionable” for Game 2, but Curry disagreed. "Right now, don't see a scenario where I'll be out," Curry told reporters. "Obviously, if it's not right and I'm at risk of further injury or whatnot, that's the only thing that we'll have to worry about. Pain tolerance and all that stuff, I kind of know what I can deal with on the court. But you don't want anything more serious to happen, favoring an ankle or whatnot. So that's what we'll kind of pay attention to the next two days.” The Rockets will spend their off day trying to figure out how to coax more offense out of a team that shot 35.7 percent from the field, including 6-of-22 from 3-point range, in the opener.
LINE HISTORY: The Warriors opened as 12.5-point favorites for Game 2 and that line was adjusted up slightly to -13. The total opened at 220 but the betting public decided that number was too high and the books adjusted the number to 218. View complete line history here.
ABOUT THE ROCKETS (41-42, 37-46 ATS, 47-36 O/U): Houston went with a smaller lineup to try to counter Golden State, inserting Corey Brewer into the starting lineup in place of power forward Donatas Motiejunas to give the defense more athleticism. "Defensively, we thought it gave us more versatility to switch things," Rockets interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff told reporters. "Games we've watched, the way we've studied it, the teams that have had success versus them defensively weren't chasing them all over the floor. They just check in front of them. So we went that way." The defensive changes backfired and the offense stalled as star James Harden went 7-of-19 from the floor and did not attempt a free throw for the first time in 148 games.
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (74-9, 46-35-2 ATS, 45-37-1 O/U): Golden State was plus-28 with Curry on the floor in Game 1 and doesn’t want to play without its star, but is prepared if necessary. “If you lose the MVP, it’s going to change your team,” Warriors forward Draymond Green told reporters. “I think he’ll be fine at some point. One man is not going to come out and be Steph Curry. We have to do it collectively. But we have the blueprint (for winning without Curry). We know we can do it, if we have to.” Fellow All-Star guard Klay Thompson struggled from the field (4-of-14) but Green collected 12 points and 10 rebounds and Golden State scored 33 points off Houston’s 24 turnovers in Game 1.
TRENDS:
* Rockets are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 Conference Quarterfinals games.
* Warriors are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 vs. NBA Southwest.
* Under is 6-0 in Rockets last 6 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
* Under is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings in Golden State.
NBA: Streaks, Tips, Notes
Sportspic.com
Indiana Pacers at Toronto Raptors
Toronto Raptors hitting a woeful 38.0% from the field, committing 20 turnovers suffered another game-one opening-round playoff loss. The best thing Toronto backers can do after witnessing an eight consecutive opening Conference Quarterfinal failure is 'Forgetaboutit'. That's because Raptors have always dug down deep and responded the game following a RD-1 opening defeat posting a 5-1-1 record against-the-betting line. Additionally, Raptors have responded off its last ten defeats going 7-3 ATS and are 3-0 ATS as home chalk off a 10 or more point thrashing.
Monday's Playoff Essentials
By Tony Mejia
VegasInsider.com
Indiana at Toronto
2015-16 Meetings
Oct 28, 2015 - Indiana 99 at Toronto 106 (Raptors -5.5, Over 200)
Dec 14, 2015 - Toronto 90 at Indiana 106 (Pacers -4.5, Under 200)
Mar 17, 2016 - Toronto 101 at Indiana 94 - OT (Raptors +1.5, Under 203.5)
Apr 8, 2016 - Indiana 98 at Toronto 111 (Raptors +5.5, Over 195)
Apr 16, 2016 - Indiana 100 at Toronto 90 (Pacers +7, Under 195)
The Pacers (46-37 SU, 43-40 ATS) opened action north of the border wanting to put some doubts in the Raptors (56-27 SU, 45-38 ATS) given their recent playoff history. Consider that mission accomplished, as Indiana walked out of Air Canada Centre with a 100-90 Game 1 win that extended Toronto’s playoff losing streak to seven games. Despite wrapping up its third consecutive Atlantic Division title with a franchise-record 56 victories, the Raptors face a must-win situation considering that they’ve already surrendered homecourt advantage and will play the next two in Indianapolis beginning Thursday.
Failing to win here would make life tough on head coach Dwane Casey, who is just 3-6 since joining the Raps after serving as a top assistant on Rick Carlisle’s staff for 2010-11 NBA Champion Dallas. Casey is the franchise’s all-time winningest coach, but there’s disappointment that his reputation as a great defensive mind has been unable to produce results when it matters most. The Wizards averaged 116 points over the last three contests of the 2015 playoffs in closing out Toronto, while the Pacers reached 100 on Saturday, scoring 30 in the fourth quarter and connecting on 11 3-pointers.
Paul George finished with 33 points and team-highs with six assists and four steals, so Casey is going to have to come up with answers to stop him from getting into a similar rhythm in Game 2. Monta Ellis came through with 15 points and five assists, while George Hill scored 10 and helped handle pressure and keep the ball movement. Off the bench, Solomon Hill and rookie Myles Turner, Indiana’s most recent first-round picks, combined for 23 points, seven rebounds and five blocks.
DeMar DeRozan (23.5 points per game) and Kyle Lowry (21.2 ppg), combined to shoot 8-for-32 (25 percent) in Game 1, which included going 1-for-10 from beyond the arc. Toronto shot 4-for-19 from 3-point range. No matter what Casey devises on the defensive end, the Raptors don’t have a prayer if their All-Star backcourt is going to perform as poorly as they did Saturday. Casey commented that it was the most tentative he'd seen his team play on the offensive end this entire season. The Raptors did win the rebounding battle by a 52-38 count, getting a franchise playoff-record 19 from Jonas Valanciunas, who kept possessions alive with 11 offensive boards.
The Raptors won three of four meetings from the Pacers this season, including both in Toronto, but those results are ancient history entering Monday. The Raptors are now 11-12 ATS record as a home favorite of nine points or less, but had won seven consecutive games (5-2 ATS) where they were favored prior to the Game 1 upset. Indiana is now an impressive 7-1 ATS mark this season as an underdog of six points or more. Indiana snapped a five-game losing streak in Toronto that dated back to March 1, 2013. The ‘under’ has prevailed in the last three Pacers games and three of the last four involving the Raptors.
Dallas at Oklahoma City
2015-16 Meetings
Nov 22, 2015 - Dallas 114 at Oklahoma City 117 (Mavs +3.5, Over 208.5)
Jan 13, 2016 - Dallas 89 at Oklahoma City 108 (Thunder -12.5, Under 207)
Jan 22, 2016 - Oklahoma City 109 at Dallas 106 (Mavs +6.5, Over 208)
Feb 24, 2016 - Oklahoma City 116 at Dallas 103 (Thunder -5.5, Over 215)
Apr 16, 2016 - Dallas 70 at Oklahoma City 108 (Thunder -12, Under 206)
While the Mavericks (42-41 SU, 44-38-1 ATS) knew they were in for a tough time against a full-strength Thunder squad on the road, Saturday’s 108-70 result provided a glaring reminder of just how tough the sledding is for the short-handed visitors. Oklahoma City led wire-to-wire, scoring the first nine points en route to winning the first three quarters by a 93-51 count. OKC took its foot off the gas in the fourth quarter, resting regulars, but dominated at both ends of the floor over the first 36 minutes. In all, the 38-point win was the largest since the team moved to Oklahoma from Seattle and the 33 points surrendered at halftime set a new franchise defensive record.
Dallas shot a franchise playoff record-worst 29.8 percent from the field in the loss and didn’t have one of its primary catalysts, guard J.J. Barea, available for the second half due to a groin injury that is expected to keep him out of this one. He shot just 1-for-6, scoring 2 points in 16 minutes after often leading the team in scoring as one of the driving forces for the team’s playoff push down the stretch.
One of the few advantages Dallas figured to have in this series was with veteran Rick Carlisle pushing buttons against playoff newbie Billy Donovan, but without a healthy team, his hands appear tied. Deron Williams, who has also been nursing a number of ailments over the past few weeks, shot 1-for-9. He's considered doubtful here. Dirk Nowitzki (7-for-15), Justin Anderson (2-for-5) and JaVale McGee (1-for-1) were the only Mavs to shoot even 40 percent from the field. The rest of the team went a combined 15-for-63 (23.8 pct). Besides Barea, David Lee (foot) missed Game 1 and is considered a long shot to participate on Monday. Key forward Chandler Parsons, a versatile starter, was lost to a season-ending knee injury in mid-March.
OKC won the rebounding battle 56-33 and blocked six shots while Dallas swatted none, controlling every aspect of the contest. Bigs Serge Ibaka, Enes Kanter and Steven Adams combined to shoot 16-for-22, feeding off the attention the Mavs had to pay Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, who combined for 47 points, 10 rebounds and 16 assists despite neither playing 30 minutes.
Oklahoma City (56-27 SU, 38-44-1 ATS) is now 5-0 against the Mavericks this season and is 33-9 at home (21-20-1 ATS). The Thunder have gone 19-2 as a double-digit home favorite this season and are now 11-10 ATS. Dallas has been a road underdog 33 times, going 17-15-1 ATS with 11 outright victories, but they’re now 2-5 against the number in the same double-digit road underdog role that awaits it tonight. The ‘under’ is now 44-39 overall for the Thunder, and has prevailed in 26 of their 42 home contests. The ‘under’ has cashed in 8 of the Mavs’ last 10 games.
Houston at Golden State
2015-16 Meetings
Oct 30, 2015 – Golden State 112 at Houston 92 (Warriors -1, Under 216.5)
Dec 31, 2015 – Golden State 114 at Houston 110 (Warriors +3.5, Over 211)
Feb 9, 2016 - Houston 110 at Golden State 123 (Rockets +13.5, Over 229)
Apr 16, 2016 - Houston 78 at Golden State 104 (Warriors -13, Under 224.5)
All eyes will be on the right ankle of soon-to-be back-to-back MVP Stephen Curry, who is officially listed as questionable after tweaking it in the second quarter while trying to get back on defense. He had his ankle re-taped at halftime but played less than three second-half minutes due to discomfort and then sat the rest of the way since the game was out of hand. While Curry said post-game that he expects to play, monitor his availability throughout the day to see if he’s undergoing his normal pre-game routines. Obviously, if developments arise that lead to him missing this Game 2, the point spread should be affected by at least 3-to-4 points.
Curry scored 24 points in less than 20 minutes of action on Saturday afternoon, getting his team off to a hot start by knocking down 5-of-7 from 3-point range. The rest of the Warriors were just 5-for-18 from beyond the arc, dominating instead by locking down defensively in holding Houston to just 35.7 percent shooting. Curry made just one 3-pointer less than the entire Rockets team despite taking 15 fewer attempts.
The Rockets committed 24 turnovers in a brutal performance. James Harden was the primary culprit with six and was a team-worst -27 when out on the floor. Dwight Howard turned it over five times, shot 4-for-11 from the free-throw line and was unable to get much done in the post against Andrew Bogut, Festus Ezeli and the undersized Draymond Green. If Houston can’t get much done in the paint, they’re at the mercy of Golden State’s pace and aren’t likely to get the open looks necessary to hang with the NBA’s most efficient offensive team. The Rockets shot 6-for-22 from 3-point range as a group, while Harden missed 12 of his 19 attempts and failed to get to the free-throw line even once.
Golden State (74-9 SU, 46-35-2 ATS) eliminated Houston in last year’s Western Conference finals, so they came into this postseason with plenty of respect for a team that has fallen on hard times. Houston (41-42 SU, 37-46 ATS) finally reached the playoffs on the final night of the regular season after Utah left the door open due to its own collapse, but any thought that it might be able to capitalize on its late momentum and catch the Warriors basking in their newly minted place in NBA regular-season history went out the window during a 33-15 first quarter in which the champs never trailed.
Harden has a 37-point game against Golden State this season but has largely struggled, now shooting just 38 percent from the field against the Warriors through the three games he’s participated in. After coming in second to Curry in this year’s league scoring race, the Rockets star had to come into this series expecting that his team would only go as far as he’d be able to take them by matching Curry shot for shot. The inability to even get to the free-throw line and his struggles against the Dubs’ long wing defenders limited his effectiveness in the series opener, so we’ll see how he’s able to adjust.
Golden State is 2-1 (1-2 ATS) without Curry in the lineup this season, which includes a 114-110 win over Houston when he sat on Dec. 31. The Warriors are now 23-21 ATS as a double-digit favorite. In last year’s postseason, The Rockets are now 1-2 ATS and 0-3 straight up as a double-digit underdog, losing games by an average margin of 19 points.
Monday's Top Action
By Sportsbook.ag
DALLAS MAVERICKS (42-41) at OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER (56-27)
Sportsbook.ag Line: Oklahoma City -14, Total: 201.5
The Mavericks will be looking to even up the series at 1-1 when they face the Thunder in Oklahoma City on Monday.
Game 1 could not have gone any worse for Dallas, as the team lost 108-70 as a 12.5-point road underdog in Oklahoma City. The Mavericks were lousy on both ends of the floor, shooting just 29.8% from the floor and allowing the Thunder to shoot 45.0%. It also doesn’t help that Dallas was outrebounded 65-52. The Mavericks are going to need to play a lot harder than the Thunder moving forward, as the only way they can defeat them is by playing a very scrappy brand of basketball.
One trend that really stands out in this game is that the Mavericks are 21-5 ATS after trailing in their previous game by 15 points or more at the half with Rick Carlisle as head coach. The Thunder, meanwhile, are 11-2 ATS in home games after a game where they made 12 or more threes over the past two seasons.
Dallas is facing some serious injury concerns coming into this game. PG J.J. Barea (Groin), PF David Lee (Foot) and PG Deron Williams (Hernia) are all expected to miss this game for the Mavericks, who are already without SF Chandler Parsons (Knee) for the rest of the year.
The Thunder are expected to be at full-strength in this one, so they’ll have a huge advantage coming into this game.
The Mavericks are extremely banged up and also happened to look awful in Game 1 in Oklahoma City. If this team is going to have any shot of evening the series up then PF Dirk Nowitzki (18.3 PPG, 6.5 RPG in regular season) is going to need to come through with a vintage performance for Dallas. Nowitzki was solid in Game 1, finishing the game with 18 points and four boards on 7-for-15 shooting from the floor. He played just 25 minutes in that one, so he should be well rested coming into Game 2. The Mavericks are going to need to feed him the ball often on Monday. It’ll likely take a 30-point performance from Nowitzki if this team is going to win this game.
SG Wesley Matthews (12.5 PPG, 1.0 SPG in regular season) is also going to need to show up for Dallas. He had just seven points in Game 1 and the Mavericks need him to be better than that. Matthews is one of the team’s best options from the outside and he also is counted on to slow down the guy he is guarding every night. He did not do that in Game 2 and will need to show more effort on the defensive end on Monday.
An x-factor for Dallas in this game could be PG Raymond Felton (9.5 PPG, 3.6 APG in regular season). Felton is going to see a lot of minutes with Barea injured and it’d be huge if he can come close to holding his own against Russell Westbrook. One thing Felton has going for him is that he is a feisty competitor. He plays with a ton of pride and his teammates will need to follow suit in this game.
The Thunder put on a magnificent display in Game 1 of this series and as long as PG Russell Westbrook (23.5 PPG, 10.4 APG, 7.8 RPG, 2.0 SPG in regular season) and SF Kevin Durant (28.2 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 5.0 APG, 1.2 BPG, 1.0 SPG in regular season) are healthy then the Thunder should easily advance to the next round. The Mavericks are severely lacking in the talent department and Westbrook and Durant give the Thunder two of the top-five players in the entire NBA.
Westbrook was excellent in Game 1, finishing with 24 points and 11 assists in 30 minutes of action. None of the guards on Dallas have the necessary size and athleticism to stay in front of him for an entire game. Doing it for the entirety of a series seems extremely unlikely.
Durant, meanwhile, had 23 points, five assists and five boards in 27 minutes of action on Saturday. With Parsons out, the Mavericks don’t have anybody with the length to cover Durant. He should have no trouble going off in Game 2 and it’s very likely that both Westbrook and Durant will get plenty of rest before what’s likely to be a grueling second round of the postseason.
HOUSTON ROCKETS (41-42) at GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS (74-9)
Sportsbook.ag Line: Golden State -13.5, Total: 218.5
The Warriors will be looking to go up 2-0 with a win at home over the Rockets in Game 2 on Monday.
The Rockets are going to be trying to forget what happened in Game 1, as they were absolutely obliterated by the Warriors at Oracle Arena on Saturday. Houston shot just 35.7% from the floor and was outrebounded 66-60 in that game. The Rockets also turned the ball over 24 times and the Warriors only coughed it up 15 times. Houston is going to need to improve in all aspects of the game in order to tie this series.
The Warriors are going to be feeling great coming into this one. They played incredible defense in Game 1 and have now won five straight games and 12 of their past 14 as well. They’re rolling right now and should love their chances of going to Houston with a 2-0 series lead.
One thing working in the Rockets’ favor is the fact that they are 16-6 ATS off a road loss by 10 points or more over the past two seasons. Golden State, meanwhile, is an impressive 33-16 ATS after two straight wins by 10 points or more in that span.
One big thing to keep an eye on coming into this game is that PG Stephen Curry (Ankle) is questionable for Golden State. He twisted his ankle in Game 1 and the Warriors are not going to risk him missing more time by forcing him into action on Monday.
The Rockets were dominated in Game 1 and if they are going to even up this series then PG James Harden (29.0 PPG, 7.5 APG, 6.1 RPG, 1.7 SPG in regular season) will need to step it up for his team. He was awful in Game 1, finishing with just 17 points on 7-for-19 shooting from the field. It’s hard to imagine the Rockets winning without Harden scoring at least 25 points. He’ll need to continue to drive to the basket, as he’ll eventually be able to get himself to the line in this series.
C Dwight Howard (13.7 PPG, 11.8 RPG, 1.6 BPG in regular season) will also need to be a lot better for the Rockets in Game 2. Howard had 14 points and 11 boards in Game 1, but he was just 5-for-10 from the floor and 4-for-11 from the charity stripe. It’s important that he is able to make his free throws the rest of this series.
PG Patrick Beverley (9.9 PPG, 3.4 APG, 1.3 SPG in regular season) is yet another Houston player that is going to need to be better moving forward. Beverley has a reputation for being a very good perimeter defender, but he allowed Steph Curry to shoot 8-for-13 from the floor in the opening game of this series. Beverley also went just 1-for-7 from the floor himself and he can’t afford to be a liability on offense for the Rockets in Game 2.
The Warriors looked superb in Game 1, but they’re really going to need PG Stephen Curry (30.1 PPG, 6.7 APG, 5.4 RPG, 2.1 SPG in regular season) to be healthy or they could have trouble the rest of this series. Curry was on fire for Golden State when he as on the floor Saturday, scoring 24 points in just 20 minutes of action. He was 5-for-7 from the outside and the Warriors are just not the same team without him. When Curry is on the floor, the attention he demands from opposing defenses is overwhelming. It allows the rest of his teammates to pretty much play 5-on-4 and it’s going to be very difficult for the Warriors to win if he isn’t out there on Monday.
One guy that will need to be ready to step it up for the Warriors is SG Klay Thompson (22.1 PPG in regular season). Thompson played some incredible defense on James Harden in the opening game of this series, but he was just 4-for-14 from the field offensively. Thompson finished with just 16 points in the game and he’ll likely need to score at least 20 on Monday. If Curry doesn’t play then he’s really the only guy on the team that they can rely on to get buckets.
PF Draymond Green (14.0 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 7.4 APG, 1.5 SPG, 1.4 BPG in regular season) would also need to rise to the occasion if Curry is out or just playing injured. Green would take over as the primary distributor for this team and that wouldn’t necessarily be out of character for him.