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NBA-Playoffs
Houston Rockets VS Golden State Warriors Sunday 04/28/19
The Houston Rockets Visit the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference playoffs round 2 game 1 on Sunday night at Oracle Arena.
| Date: : Sunday 04/28/19 |
| Time: 03:05 pm EDT |
| Venue: Oracle Arena Oakland, CA |
| NBA Spread: Houston +5.5 |
| NBA Moneyline: off |
| NBA Total Points: off |
| NBA Team Points: off |
The Houston Rockets hope to continue a hot run while also stirring up some of their regular-season magic when they seek to dethrone the defending champion Golden State Warriors in a Western Conference semifinal series that tips off Sunday afternoon in Oakland, Calif.
The rivals will be meeting in the postseason for the fourth time in the last five seasons, with Golden State having prevailed in the previous three, including twice in the Western Finals.
Rockets postseason notes – General:
1. Outscored the Jazz by 18.0 points per game from three-point range, the biggest discrepancy in the first round.
2. Rockets-Jazz was the least-efficient offensive first round series in the Western Conference, with the two teams combining to score just 103.8 points per 100 possessions.
3. Have been at their best in the first quarter, outscoring the Jazz by 15.3 points per 100 possessions, and progressively worse with each ensuing quarter: plus-13.4 in the second, plus-8.6 in the third, and minus-0.8 in the fourth.
Warriors postseason notes – Offense:
1. 69.8 percent of their field goals, the highest rate in the playoffs, have been assisted. Rank first in the playoffs in ball movement (376 passes per 24 minutes of possessions) and ninth in player movement (11.2 miles traveled per 24 minutes of possession).
2. Rank second in both two-point percentage (56.0 percent), three-point percentage (39.9 percent), and lead the postseason in free throw percentage (86.4 percent).
3. Lead the postseason with 16.5 post-ups per game. Have passed out of post-ups 56.6 percent of the time, the highest rate among teams that have posted up more than one time in the playoffs.
4. Have averaged 22.7 drives per game, fewest in the postseason.
Warriors postseason notes – Defense:
1. The Clippers saw the second biggest drop in the percentage of their shots that came from the restricted area from the regular season (35 percent, 8th-highest in the league) to the first round (29 percent, 10th).
2. The Clippers scored 1.50 points per possession, the postseason’s best rate, on roll-man possessions.
3. The Clippers drew fouls on 9.8 percent of their drives, the second highest rate in the playoffs. They rank second in overall free throw rate (FTA/FGA), averaging 32.3 attempts per 100 shots from the field, though that was right around their league-leading mark in the regular season (32.6).
Harden and Paul once more. With these two leading the way, the Rockets are largely considered the ones with the best shot to derail Golden State’s road to a three-peat.
Houston superstar James Harden struggled to 37.4 percent from the floor in the first round, but the team made up the difference on the other end of the floor. Harden averaged 28.7 points on 41.3 percent shooting in the seven games against Golden State last spring. Capela averaged a double-double at 10.8 points and 10.6 rebounds in the first round.
The Golden State Warriors barely escaped the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference finals last season and limp into the rematch a round earlier and with plenty of questions to answer. The top-seeded Warriors will try to steal Game 1 and maintain homecourt advantage when they host the Rockets in the semifinals on Sunday.
Warriors postseason notes – General:
1. Have lost more home games (they were 1-2 at home in the first round) than they lost in the last two postseasons combined (19-1).
2. Warriors-Clippers was the most efficient offensive series in the first round, with the two teams combining to score 116.0 points per 100 possessions.
3. Have been at their best in the first quarter, outscoring the Clippers by 31.6 points per 100 possessions, and progressively worse with each ensuing quarter: plus-17.0 in the second, plus-4.4 in the third, and minus-18.5 in the fourth.
Warriors postseason notes – Offense:
1. 69.8 percent of their field goals, the highest rate in the playoffs, have been assisted. Rank first in the playoffs in ball movement (376 passes per 24 minutes of possessions) and ninth in player movement (11.2 miles traveled per 24 minutes of possession).
2. Rank second in both two-point percentage (56.0 percent), three-point percentage (39.9 percent), and lead the postseason in free throw percentage (86.4 percent).
3. Lead the postseason with 16.5 post-ups per game. Have passed out of post-ups 56.6 percent of the time, the highest rate among teams that have posted up more than one time in the playoffs.
4. Have averaged 22.7 drives per game, fewest in the postseason.
Warriors postseason notes – Defense:
1. The Clippers saw the second biggest drop in the percentage of their shots that came from the restricted area from the regular season (35 percent, 8th-highest in the league) to the first round (29 percent, 10th).
2. The Clippers scored 1.50 points per possession, the postseason’s best rate, on roll-man possessions.
3. The Clippers drew fouls on 9.8 percent of their drives, the second highest rate in the playoffs. They rank second in overall free throw rate (FTA/FGA), averaging 32.3 attempts per 100 shots from the field, though that was right around their league-leading mark in the regular season (32.6).
The Rockets’ defense will need to find a way to slow Golden State star Kevin Durant, who exploded for 50 points in Game 6 on Friday and averaged 35 points on 56.7 percent shooting in the first round. Draymond Green recorded a triple-double with 16 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists on Friday.
NBA Trends
Rockets are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 Sunday games
Rockets are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 vs. Pacific Division teams
Rockets are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 after scoring 100 points or more in their previous game
Warriors are 2-9 ATS in their last 11 Sunday games Warriors are 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games following a straight up win Warriors are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games following an ATS win
Betting Knowledge:
ATS- Against The Spread
Betting against the spread is a good betting strategy when the point spread is low, or the bettor believes the team they are betting on can beat their opponent by at least the point spread advertised. If the bettor believes the team will win big, betting against the spread will result in a huge payout. An example of betting against the spread would be if a wager that the Boston Celtics (-7) would beat the Indiana Pacers (+7). That means the Celtics would have to win by more than 7 points for the individual to win his bet.
