NBA Basketball
2012-03-13 - Houston Rockets at Oklahoma City
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States: NBA Basketball
Tuesday 13 March 2012 - Tip Off 8pm ET
Midnight (British Standard Time)
Preview
The Oklahoma City Thunder (32-9) lost their first game at home in a run of 14 recently, but they got back on the horse to crush Charlotte last time out and will look to extend their lead as the Number 1 seed in the Western Conference. They will be looking for a victory over the Houston Rockets (22-20), a team still in the mix for a Play Off berth but one that is looking to make a couple of trades before the deadline in two days time.
The Thunder may not have played last night, but they were practising hard in anticipation of this game as they now finish the rest of the season playing solely against teams from their own Conference.
The one aspect they are trying to improve is the number of assists per game the team totals as they currently in the lower rankings of that category. Oklahoma City want to make it easier for their shooters by improving the shots they are getting to see and they will be hoping to bring the form from the win over Charlotte, when they had 27 assists, into this one.
Houston will be missing one of their key players for this game as Kyle Lowry has been ruled out for a couple of weeks at least with a virus infection. Lowry has been very strong this season for the Rockets and his place in the starting rotation will be taken by Goran Dragic, a player that has already started against the Thunder twice this season.
Dragic averaged 15 points and 9.5 assists in his two games against Oklahoma City this season, but he is coming up against one of the better Point Guards in the League in Russell Westbrook and this is a tough spot for him.
Houston have been struggling as they have lost 6 of their last 7 games and they have struggled to play proper defence and keep teams from shooting easily against them. Kevin Martin, their leading scorer, has been struggling, while the trade rumours surrounding pieces of their team cannot be having a great effect on the players.
Head to Head
Oklahoma City lead the season series 2-1 and that now means they have won 6 of their last 8 games against Houston.
The Rockets have won the last 2 games against the spread after the Thunder had gone 5-1 in the previous 6 games.
Oklahoma City have won their last 4 at home against Houston, both straight up and against the spread.
Oklahoma City are 11-9 against the spread at home this season, Houston are 7-13-1 on the road.
The Thunder are 20-17 against the spread as the favourite, Houston are 9-12 as the underdog.
Other Interesting Trends
Oklahoma City are 7-1-1 against the spread in their last 9 games when they have been given a couple of nights off.
Houston have lost their last 5 games against the spread as the road underdog.
They are 3-8 against the spread in their last 11 games against a team with a winning record at home.
Prediction
I am going to back the Oklahoma City Thunder for the following reasons:
First, Oklahoma City have dominated the Houston Rockets in their recent home games.
Second, Houston are missing a key piece of their offense while the other players may be overly concerned with trade rumours surrounding their futures.
Third, the Thunder have been performing well when facing a team that they lost their last game to- they have gone 4-2 against the spread in that spot.
Fourth, the Thunder are 4-0 against the spread after playing three consecutive games at home.
Finally, the Rockets are 1-3-1 against the spread in their last 5 games when playing the first of back to back games scheduled.
The Pick :
Oklahoma City 113-100 Houston Rockets
