Rockets vs. Warriors Betting Line – NBA January 21
Carrie Stroup here with your Rockets vs. Warriors betting line as well as the Trailblazers vs. Suns game. Place your 1st bet, get your 2nd bet free here.
HOUSTON ROCKETS (29-13) at GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS (33-6)
Sportsbook.ag Line: Golden State -8.5, Total:
The Houston Rockets hit the road for their first of three straight road games when they take on the Golden State Warriors this Wednesday night.
Despite changing their rotation a multitude of times and dealing with injuries to key players, the Rockets have been able to put together a great campaign and come into this one as SU and ATS victors in six of their past eight contests. Their offense has gone crazy in that time with 109.5 PPG as they have shot better than 47% from the field in five of the games. Houston once again put together a dominant effort when it hosted the Pacers as 10-point favorites on Monday night in a 110-98 game where they hit 37-of-72 shots (51.4% FG).
The Warriors have done a great job of taking something that was good and making it better as they’ve rattled off SU wins in 10 of their last 11 attempts and have not lost at home since November 11th (16 games). Over their last 11 contests they have been able to go 8-3 ATS as they are scoring an incredible amount of points (117.8 PPG) as they've hit 50% or more of their shots six times. They earned the most lopsided victory of the year in their most recent bout with the Nuggets as they dismantled Denver by a score of 122-79 as 14.5-point favorites while making 54.3% of their attempts and out-rebounding Denver 53-39.
Overall the Rockets have done well on the road with a 13-6 SU record (10-9 ATS), but will have little chance at grabbing a win with Golden State going a near flawless 18-1 SU (14-4-1 ATS) at home. These high-octane offenses have already met three times this season with the Warriors going a perfect 3-0 SU and ATS as they defeated Houston by an average of 16.0 PPG. They have not always been as dominant and over the last three seasons, these clubs have split 10 games both SU and ATS.
Some trends to keep an eye on in this one include that the Rockets are 29-14 ATS (67%) after a non-conference game in the past two seasons as Golden State has gone 11-1 ATS (92%) off a home win scoring 110 or more points this year. Each team will be missing a big man for this matchup with PF Terrence Jones (Leg) out for Houston and C Festus Ezeli (Ankle) out for the host Warriors.
Houston started out the year a little slow on the offensive end but has picked it up in a big way and rank eighth in the league with 102.6 PPG behind 44% shooting (8th-worst in league). On the other side of the ball, they have allowed their opposition to score 98.4 PPG (11th in league) as they hit 44.2% of their shots (9th in league).
SG James Harden (27.1 PPG, 6.7 APG, 5.6 RPG, 1.9 SPG) has the ability to carry this team on his back and did so with a season-high 45 points on 12-of-18 shooting against the Pacers on Monday night. He also added four steals and seven assists in the victory and will hope to do better against the Warriors this time than he has over the previous three meetings this year; where he averaged 22.7 PPG (39% FG), 6.0 RPG, 5.0 APG and 2.3 SPG.
C Dwight Howard (17.0 PPG, 11.2 RPG, 1.5 BPG) has two big double-doubles in his last two performances but has averaged just 0.7 BPG over 11 January games. He’s faced Golden State just once this year and put forth a big effort (23 points, 10 rebounds) in Saturday’s contest against them.
SF Trevor Ariza (12.6 PPG, 5.4 RPG) continues to struggle from long range as he has made a mere 5-of-17 threes (29% 3PM) over the past three games and has scored just 8.0 PPG over his last two. He has been horrible in his three outings against the Warriors on the year, averaging 10.7 PPG (28% FG) and 6.7 RPG.
The Golden State offense seems to just keep getting better and better as they are scoring the most points in the league (110.3 PPG) while shooting the ball with deadly accuracy (48.7% FG, best in league). Where they have really improved this year is on defense, as they are giving up 98.6 PPG (12th in league) behind 42.1% shooting (best in league).
PG Stephen Curry (23.2 PPG, 8.0 APG, 4.8 RPG, 2.1 SPG) has 20+ points in 7-of-9 January contests and is shooting an incredible 53% from the floor in that time. He crushed Houston for 27 points, 11 assists, seven rebounds, three steal and a block in Saturday’s win and has done well overall (27.0 PPG, 7.7 APG, 7.7 RPG, 2.3 SPG) in the three games against them this year.
SG Klay Thompson (21.7 PPG, 1.2 SPG, 1.0 BPG, 45% 3PM) has made 15-of-30 threes over the past five games and recorded a season-high five blocks to go with 27 points when the Warriors put a beatdown on the Rockets this past Saturday. He didn’t do well in the other two meetings, though; making just 11-of-34 shots (32% FG) as he averaged 16.0 PPG.
SF Draymond Green (11.5 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 1.5 SPG, 1.4 BPG) has seen his production dip in the past five games with 8.6 PPG and 5.0 RPG and has gone for 12.0 PPG (48% FG), 6.7 RPG, 2.7 SPG and 1.0 BPG against Houston in three games this season.
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS (31-11) at PHOENIX SUNS (25-18)
Sportsbook.ag Line: Phoenix -7.5, Total: 212
The Phoenix Suns attempt to win a seventh straight game at home when they host the LaMarcus Aldridge-less Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night.
Portland has been one of the quieter elite teams in the NBA this season, but has run into a little bit of a rough patch lately with SU losses in three of its last four contests (0-4 ATS). They’ve averaged a mere 95.5 PPG in that time, as they’ve let three of the tougher teams in the West, the Clippers, Spurs and Grizzlies, walk all over them in the losses. In their most recent matchup, the Trail Blazers took on a Kings club who recently got back to full strength and just barely squeaked out a 98-94 victory as 9.5-point favorites. Portland was able to secure the win as they outscored Sacramento 31-19 in the fourth quarter and forced 21 turnovers.
The Suns have looked great over the past week as they've earned three SU wins (2-1 ATS) in the first three home games of an eight-game homestand. They won the contests by an average of 11 PPG but did so against some of weaker teams in the West, the Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angele Lakers, in their last two. They shot 50% or better in each of the victories as they put up 110.7 PPG, and lit up the Lakers by a score of 115-100 as 10.5-point favorites on Monday night. They got hot from behind the arc in the win and hit 13-of-32 three-pointers (40.6%) and they forced 23 turnovers.
The Blazers have not done quite as well when playing on the road as evidenced by their 12-7 SU record (10-9 ATS) and will be going up against a Suns team which is 12-7 SU (11-8 ATS) when playing in front of their home crowd. These clubs have not met yet this season and it has been Phoenix who has dominated the matchup since the start of the 2012-13 campaign with a 5-2 SU record as they have covered in each of the past eight meetings. Last year, the Suns scored 104 or more points in three of the four games while winning three games SU and holding Portland under 42% shooting three times.
Trends show that the Blazers are a solid 11-3 ATS (79%) when playing eight or more games in 14 days this season while Phoenix is 10-1 ATS (91%) after three straight games where they made 47% or their shots or better in the past three years. Portland will be very thin with its big men for this contest as PF LaMarcus Aldridge (Hand), C Robin Lopez (Hand) and C Joel Freeland (Shoulder) are expected to be absent, while the Suns bring a healthy slate into this one.
The Trail Blazers’ offense has looked great this year as they are putting up 103.1 PPG (7th in league) behind 44.8% shooting as a team. They were always known for their solid offense, but what has really impressed is their defense, which has allowed the second-fewest PPG in the league (96.9 PPG) with their opposition making 43.1% of their shots (2nd in league).
PG Damian Lillard (22.1 PPG, 6.2 APG, 4.7 RPG, 1.4 SPG) has lost his touch in the past three games, making just 39% of his shots; including a meager 5-of-24 (21%) from behind the arc. He also had his issues when facing Phoenix last year, averaging 18.5 PPG (41% FG) with 4.5 APG and 1.0 SPG. SG Wesley Matthews (16.3 PPG, 1.1 SPG) had an underwhelming performance in his last game as he made just 2-of-12 threes just one game after going 7-for-14 from behind the arc against the Grizzlies. Just like his teammates, Matthews had a lot of issues against the Suns last year as he netted just 9.3 PPG (39% FG) with 3.8 RPG.
SF Nicolas Batum (8.9 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 4.6 APG, 1.2 SPG) has been dealing with a lingering wrist injury and has not scored in double-digits in each of the last four games. He didn’t look too good against Phoenix over four starts last season, averaging 11.0 PPG (39% FG) and 7.8 RPG.
As usual, the Suns offense can go toe-to-toe with pretty much any other team in the NBA as they are scoring 107.2 PPG (3rd in league) behind 46.6% shooting (6th in league). Unfortunately their defense cannot keep up and is allowing 104.6 PPG to their opponents (3rd-worst in league) on 45.4% shooting.
PG Eric Bledsoe (16.4 PPG, 5.9 APG, 5.2 RPG, 1.6 SPG) has struggled with a 41% shooting mark in his last five performances and has managed 15.0 PPG in that time. He started in three contests against this Portland club last season, going for 25.0 PPG (52% FG), 5.7 RPG, 5.0 APG and 1.3 SPG.
SG Goran Dragic (17.0 PPG, 4.1 APG, 1.0 SPG) played a complete game (24 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal) in the recent win over the Lakers and has scored 21.0 PPG over his last three performances. He was solid over his four games against the Blazers in the 2013-14 campaign with 23.3 PPG (49% FG) and 5.5 APG.
PF Markieff Morris (15.5 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 1.4 SPG) has made 27 of his last 46 shots (59% FG) and is just two games removed from a 35-point, seven rebound performance in the win over the Cavaliers. He came off the bench in three contests against Portland last year and went for 13.0 PPG (39% FG) with 6.7 RPG.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
