The first round of the NBA Playoffs continue tonight and we will see the Houston Rockets take on the Oklahoma City Thunder in Oklahoma City Oklahoma. The game is scheduled for a 9:35 pm (Eastern) start time and will be televised on TNT. Currently the Odds for the game have Oklahoma City favored by 8.5 points while the total sits at 208.
Analysis: The Houston Rockets avoided a sweep and head into a raucous atmosphere in Oklahoma City as the Thunder again try to close out the Western Conference series in Wednesday’s Game 5. Houston notched a 105-103 home victory on Monday and could really make things interesting with another victory. Houston's offense has improved in each of the four games this series, going from 36.3% FG in Game 1, to 39.6% shooting in Game 2, to 43.4% FG in Game 3 and 48.7% shooting in Monday's win. The same thing has happened with three-point shooting that has been 22.2%, 28.6%, 32.4% and 44.4% in the four contests. A big reason for its high FG percentage on Monday was a domination of both points in the paint (44-22) and fast-break points (17-9). The only negative was its 22 turnovers, but the club did record 10 steals to help combat those mistakes. Only eight Rockets players saw the court in Game 4, with seven of those men scoring at least seven points. SF Chandler Parsons had an epic performance of 27 points (11-of-21 FG), 10 rebounds and eight assists in Game 4, upping his series averages to a strong 18.5 PPG, 6.8 RPG and 3.8 APG. Parsons' effort was key, as leading scorer SG James Harden was a woeful 4-of-12 from the floor with a frightening 10 turnovers. Although Harden has shot just 36% FG (16% threes) for the series, he has gotten to the foul line 50 times (41-of-50 FT, 82%) leading to a 25.3 PPG average plus 6.5 RPG and 4.3 APG in the postseason.
The Oklahoma City fans are eager to serenade Rockets rookie Patrick Beverley, who was involved in a play that caused Thunder standout Russell Westbrook to suffer a season-ending knee injury in Game 2. Oklahoma City star Kevin Durant had 38 points on 12-of-16 shooting in the Game 4 loss. He averaged 39.5 points in the two games Westbrook missed and attempted to keep Monday’s defeat in perspective. “No need to panic,” Durant said. “That’s only going to put more pressure on us. That’s only going to make us feel worse.” Second-year pro Reggie Jackson is averaging 16 points in two starts in place of Westbrook. He was 7-of-18 shooting in Game 4 and missed a late game-tying attempt. Forward Serge Ibaka missed the putback at the buzzer and had his worst game of the series with eight points and five rebounds. The scoring hole left by Westbrook’s absence hasn’t been patched up but veteran Derek Fisher did his part with 12 points on four 3-pointers in Game 4. Guard Kevin Martin is averaging 13.5 points in the series but shooting just 34.8 percent and has missed two-thirds or more of his shots in three of the four games. Durant has scored 20 or more points in 30 consecutive playoff games.
Pick: I will look to take the Thunder in this one. Oklahoma City does not want this series to go on much further. A big win here and they can rest starters and then take a couple days off to figure things out without Westbrook. Oklahoma City has been tough at home all yea and should close out this series with a nice easy win.
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