When: Thursday, November 8, 8:00 PM. ET.
The Oklahoma City Thunder will be going for their seventh consecutive win when they face the Houston Rockets on Thursday night.
The Rockets have bounced back from their slow start to the season and have now won three consecutive games. They will try to make it four wins in a row and move to .500 when they face the Thunder on Thursday night.
Houston’s biggest problem at the start of the season was defense, but the team has done a great job over their last three games, keeping two of their last three opponents under 100 points. The return of James Harden, who missed three games with an injury has also helped the team.
The Rockets are now giving up 110.1 points per game, which is 12th in the league.
Now that they are playing better on the defensive end, the Rockets have to turn their attention to their offense, which has also struggled. The team is averaging 105.3 points per game, which is 26th in the league.
Harden leads the team with 27.8 points, five rebounds, and 8.2 assists per game. Chris Paul, who picked up the offensive slack while Harden was out, is averaging 17.7 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 9.3 assists per game, while Clint Capela is putting up 15.6 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game.
The Thunder are playing their second game in as many nights, and while they didn’t need Russell Westbrook to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday, they will be hoping their best player is able to return from his ankle injury against the Rockets as they go for their seventh consecutive win.
Like the Rockets, the Thunder have been able to bounce back from a slow start thanks to an improved defense. They are holding opponents to 111.3 points per game, which is 16th in the league. They will need to play with the same intensity that they have played with over their last six games to get the win over the Rockets.
Westbrook leads the team with 24.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 8.9 assists per game, but if he is unable to play, the team will need Paul George, who is averaging 22.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game, to pick up the offensive slack.
Dennis Schroder, who has played well off the bench and is averaging 15.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per game, will also need to step up if Westbrook can’t play.
2-5 ATS in its last 7 Thursday games.
1-4 ATS in its last 5 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.
6-2 ATS in its last 8 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
The Thunder have struggled against the spread this season and have lost four of their last five home games against teams with winning road records. The Rockets have been a little better against the spread and have won six of their last eight road games against teams with winning home records.
The total has gone under in four of Houston’s last five games against Northwest Division teams and in four of their last five games against teams with winning records. The total has also gone under in four of Oklahoma City’s last five games against teams with losing records and in four of the last five meetings between the two teams.
The Rockets are averaging 105.3 points per game, but they will go over 109 in this game because the Thunder give up 108.8 points per game and they will be without Westbrook in this game. The fact that they played on the road on Wednesday will add to their fatigue.
The Thunder have played well in the first half this season, averaging 61.7 points per game in the first half of their last three games. They have also been the better defensive team, holding opponents to 53.7 points per game in the first half of their last three games, giving them the edge over the Rockets in the first half.
If Westbrook doesn’t play, the Thunder will have a hard time hitting their season average at the half. Even though both teams will score over 50 points at the half, it won’t be enough to go over the total.
The Thunder are averaging 63 points in the first half of their last three games, but they will play under 55 points in this game because they struggled in Wednesday’s game without Westbrook, scoring 48 first-half points against the Cleveland Cavaliers and will likely struggle again on Thursday night.