With the 1st half of the NBA 2015-16 Season nearing we have an interesting match-up this Friday the 29th of January 2016 with the No. 7 of Western Conference the 25-23 Houston Rockets playing at the No. 3 of Western Conference the 35-13 Thunder of Oklahoma City with the game being played at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma with the tip-off scheduled for 8:10 PM ET.
The Houston Rockets come into this match after this past Wednesday night losing 130-99 to the No. 2 San Antonio Spurs. So fans should not expect an easier game on Friday as the Rockets face the No. 3 seed the Thunder of Oklahoma who are on a run themselves.
If you Bet on NBA games at SBG sportsbook and are a fan of the struggling Houston Rockets, the team had a 3 game win streak that was ended quickly in that last loss to the Spurs. But fans must remember that playing the Spurs on their home court is a difficult task for all opponents, and this season they are presently with no losses at home.
The good news for Rockets fans is that their star D. Howard is finally back in the lineup after missing 3 straight games with an injured ankle. Prior to that Howard was performing well as he was averaging some 17.4 points each game in January while shooting 61% with some 13.4 rebound per game for that same stretch.
Another player standing out has been T. Ariza who has averaged 15.2 points on 49 percent completion from the field, while on 3-pointers he has made 50.2% of his shots from out there! He also was a factor in their 3 game win streak as he averaged 26.2 points and had 6 3-pointers for each of the 3 games.
Then J. Harden formerly of the Thunder looks forward to this game, as he has been averaging some 34.2 points in his ultimate 5 games played against the Thunder and in those games the Rockets charted victories. For the Rockets to upset the Thunder their Harden will need Howard and Ariza to be at their best and they could make this a 6th straight win against OKC.
Then the fans of the OKC Thunder are somewhat in the shade as the Spurs and the Warriors are getting all the news as of late, and few seem to be talking about the sizzling Thunder whom in their ultimate 10 game are with 9 wins and 1 loss and are now the No. 3 team in the Western Conference.
Yes, they have had some close game in their heavy road schedule as their ultimate 3 victories over the Knicks, Mavericks and T-Wolves have all been wins by 6 points or less. Then they lost the 1 game of that 10 game stretch to the Nets of Brooklyn by some 10 points.
Their stars have been K. Durant and R. Westbrook, who both have played outstanding in their ultimate 10 games, with Durant having 6 assists, 8.7 rebounds and averages some 30 points, while Westbrook averages some 20 points with 8 assists and 11 rebounds for that period. That gave them for the 10 game run a 110.8 offensive rating and only the Warriors and the Spurs can compete with that.
The problems for the Thunder have been with their defense which has been far from perfect, but against the Rockets their offense should score enough so that would not be a concern since the Rockets defensive efficiency is ranked at 24th in the leagues this 2015-16.
The online wagering prediction for this Western Conference game between the Rockets and the Thunder will see Durand and Westbrook too much for the Rockets Harden and teammates as OKC wins the game 110-103!