THUNDER at ROCKETS
Take: ROCKETS -7.5
This Oklahoma City-Houston series has been entertaining for the most part, and I suppose I don’t disagree with the stance that the two teams are not that far apart in terms of overall ability.
But I also believe the Rockets will be sending the Thunder back to Oklahoma City for the summer with a victory tonight.
The tough part tonight is forecasting which team covers the spread. It’s obviously not a cheap number, so Houston will have to win this fairly comfortably to get past the points. I suspect that’s what will happen eventually.
I’m not suggesting that Oklahoma City is mentally defeated as they probably feel they should be even at worst and perhaps even up 3-1 in this series. But that’s the problem. They’re not and while a 3-1 deficit isn’t insurmountable. the Thunder are now big dogs as far as the series price is concerned.
My guess is that if the Rockets get out of the gate quickly in this game, there’s a real possibility the Thunder lose focus and sort of mail it in late. That’s not a rip on the team, it’s just the way things often unfold for underdogs once it becomes clear their effort is going to fall short.
The flip side is that a good first half by the Thunder could very likely mean this one remains a dogfight right to the finish line. But the view from here is that Houston is going to flex its muscles tonight and end the series in the process. If that’s the case, I believe the stronger likelihood is that the Rockets pull away late to get both the win and cover.
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My 3* MLB Game of Week is available here.
Good luck guys.