NBA Basketball
2025-05-02 - Houston Rockets at Golden State Warriors
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States : NBA Basketball Playoff First Round Game 6
Friday 2nd May 2025 - Scheduled 9pm
2am (British Time)
Preview
Plenty of reporters have written about the blowout loss suffered by the Golden State Warriors in Game 5 and compared it with the performance in the Semi Final Series win over the Memphis Grizzlies in the exact same situation in 2022.
The Warriors not only rallied to win that Series 4-2, but they were able to move forward and win the NBA Championship and this is a veteran roster who will not be panicking about one loss.
However, the concern has to be that the likes of Draymond Green, Steph Curry are much older in 2025 compared with where they would have been in 2022 and there is a lack of rest being offered to them between games as the First Round Series winds down. Head Coach Steve Kerr was able to give his older players plenty of rest with Game 5 getting out of hand and he resisted bringing them back in after the backups helped the Warriors rally and make the final score much closer than the overall feel of that game.
There was some concern in the Houston Rockets ranks having had to bring back the starters to end the rally the Warriors had put together and yet the Series remains very chippy. Another player faced an ejection and the teams clearly are not getting on with one another, while Golden State have suggested that the Rockets are trying to injure Steph Curry by bending the rules and hitting his thumb after a shot has been released.
Houston are resisting all of that talk and instead will feel they have some momentum as the Number 2 Seed bids to avoid being eliminated in the First Round. Heading to Golden State for Game 6 is going to present a big challenge for Houston, but they have been competitive in both games hosted by the Warriors and that has to give the Rockets a huge amount of encouragement.
They know they are the younger and fresher team, although you cannot ever dismiss the value of experience that Golden State have, and Houston will look to use their legs to wear the Warriors down.
The feeling is that we are going to get one huge effort from the Warriors, but a team looking to close out a Series having failed once to do so have struggled against the spread in recent seasons. Hosting Game 6 has proven to be a tough spot in which to cover too and Houston look to be getting enough points in this one to keep this close, even if they were to be beaten and eliminated.
Opposing Draymond Green, Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler and everything we have seen from these players in the post-season is not exactly a position in which you can feel comfortable, but the Rockets look capable of pushing all the way and this feels like enough points that can see the road underdog cover.
Prediction
Take the points with the road underdog.
The Pick :
Golden State Warriors 108-105 Houston Rockets
FIXED ODDS BETTING TIP :
I'll back Houston Rockets + 5 Points at -105 with Bovada
