It’s been set for quite some time now thanks to the Golden State Warriors winning their Play-In Tournament game back on Tuesday night, but their series against the Houston Rockets has still not lost any hype. With that in mind, as we approach today’s series opener, we’ve got our Warriors vs. Rockets predictions for you.

You’ll also find that we’ve combined both the best bet from our Warriors vs. Rockets picks with a way to enjoy player picks as well with a guaranteed PrizePicks Fantasy sign up bonus!

 

 

 

Warriors vs. Rockets Predictions For Tonight NBA Playoffs, 4/20

As you’d expect with teams in the same conference, the Warriors and Rockets had their four-game season series this year. However, they actually faced off five total times thanks to the in-season NBA Cup. So, we have even more data to pull from!

In fact, that NBA Cup result absolutely plays a role in where we’re heading for the best bet from our Warriors vs. Rockets predictions, but it’s certainly not the only thing to consider. In those five games, Golden State was an impressive 4-1 against the spread versus Houston, and they’re even favored tonight, albeit only slightly.

We’ll get more into the Warriors making history in the betting markets in just a moment, but that’s one trend for you to consider when locking in your Warriors vs. Rockets picks.

 

 

 

Golden State Warriors: Making History

While just about everyone has been well aware of the Warriors win over the Timberwolves, it was the way in which it came that provided so much optimism in Golden State, and the odds markets. Starting with the Stephen Curry + Jimmy Butler combination, the two scored 37 and 38 points, respectively.

It was just the second time a pair of Warriors teammates scored 30+ in a game this year, and the other was just two days prior! In terms of history in the odds markets, Golden State, despite being the #7 seed, opened as huge -200 favorites for the series. That’s just the second time in the past 30 years the #7 has been favored on the #2 seed in the opening round. 

 

 

 

Houston Rockets: Overcoming Inexperience

So, why is it that the Warriors are not just favored to win the series over the Rockets, but also in significant fashion? While there is no one singular reason, a lot has been made regarding the massive experience gap between these teams. Golden State may no longer be the dynasty it once was, but they have the championship pedigree.

For some hard numbers, Houston’s starting five has an average age of just over 25 years old compared to the Warrior’s average age of over 30. Perhaps a better indicator - the Rockets have just two combined All-Star appearances compared to Golden State’s 21. So, will the youth prevail, or will the experience be too much for Houston to overcome?

 

 

 

Warriors vs. Rockets Odds, Spreads, Total & Betting Lines

The Warriors vs. Rockets odds for tonight would suggest that the answer to that is nearly a toss-up, even with the overall series price favoring Golden State so heavily:

 

 

 

Warriors vs. Rockets Best Bet: Under 214.5 Points (Add Player Picks At PrizePicks Fantasy)

We already noted the glaring against-the-spread trend from these teams this season, so surely that’s all we need to confirm our best bet, right? Not so fast - there’s another one that supports what we were thinking heading into our research anyway!

Our Warriors vs. Rockets predictions are going to focus on a lower-scoring game than the odds would suggest. Admittedly, it’s a rather low total, but we’re still comfortable with taking the under. Not only was Golden State 4-1 against the spread versus Houston this season, but we also saw the under go 4-1 in those five contests.

That includes each of the four most recent matchups, and the aforementioned NBA Cup game was one of them. With a final score of just 91-90 for that meeting, that easily stayed under what is a low total for tonight. We’re certainly not saying that the NBA Cup is comparable to a playoff game, but we have seen that players and teams take that tournament quite seriously.

Furthermore, that isn’t even the only time that we saw a game between these teams where they BOTH stayed under 100 points. It also happened in a 99-93 win for the Warriors, and the most recent matchup (just two weeks ago), was a 106-96 win for the Rockets. That result dispels any doubters of, “well, they have Jimmy Butler now!”

Taking all the above into consideration, we’re locking in the under 214.5 points (tack on some PrizePicks projections also) as the best bet from our Warriors vs. Rockets predictions.

 

 

 

Warriors vs. Rockets Injury Report & Starting Lineups

There was concern regarding Stephen Curry’s right thumb injury prior to the past two games, but after scoring 36+ in both of those games, perhaps we can put that to bed. Therefore, the Warriors vs. Rockets injury news is few and far between, setting us up for tonight’s projected lineups:

GS Warriors:

HOU Rockets:

 

 

 

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