NBA Golden State Warriors vs Houston Rockets Preview and Prediction

Date/Time: 11-15-2018, 20:00 EDT

Spread: Houston Rockets -3

Total: +219

The teams that held the best records last year in the West are clashing tonight, when the Houston Rockets are hosting the defending champions Golden State Warriors who are still missing their star player. Both teams are coming off victories and are looking to continue on the winning ways.

Warriors are 12-3 so far in the league and are sitting on top of the Western Conference. They have not won or lost a second straight game for the past 10 days and in their last game they were victorious against Atlanta at home, 110-103. Rockets are 6-7 so far in the league and are sitting in twelfth place of the Western Conference. They have won their last two games and in their latest matchup they were victorious against Denver on the road, 109-99.

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Golden State are led in scoring by Stephen Curry with 29.5 ppg. He also adds 5 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game but he is unavailable due to injury. Kevin Durant follows with 27.5 ppg, adding 6.5 assists and 7.3 rebounds per game. Houston are led in scoring by James Harden with 27.3 ppg. He also adds 5.6 rebounds and leads the team in assists made with 7.7 per game, while Chris Paul follows with 17.6 ppg, adding 5.2 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game.

Those two teams met 10 times last year, splitting all ten games. Golden State led 4-3 wins in the playoffs and Houston 2-1 in the regular season. Houston are 1-4 at home so far, while Golden State are 4-2 on the road. Golden State are better offensively, scoring a second-best of 120.7 ppg to Houston’s 103.2 ppg, while Houston have a better defense, allowing 106.7 ppg to Golden State’s 111. Golden State have better percentages both from the field (50.9% to 42.6%) and from behind the arc (41.8% to 32.9%) and both of them are league-bests. The Dubs also dish a league-best 29.9 assists per game to Houston’s’ 20 and they also grab more rebounds (45.7 to 41.2), while Houston commit fewer turnovers (13.4 to 14.7). Houston have been playing better lately and expect them to utilize the home court advantage and get away with the win today.

Golden State Warriors vs Houston Rockets Prediction: Houston Rockets -3 (-105)