Now that the 2015 NBA Playoffs have moved on to the Conference Finals, in the Western Conference we have the No. 2 seed Rockets Houston playing the No. 1 seed Warriors of Golden State with the 1st Game being played in Oakland, California at the Oracle Arena on Tuesday the 19th of May 2015, with the tip-off at 9:05 PM ET and can be seen on ESPN TV.
In this first game the Vegas gambling odds have the Warriors of Golden State as the favorites at -10 on the Point Spread with the Total at 219 and -625 on the Money Line, while they have the Rockets of Houston at +10 on the Point Line and +475 on the Money Line for this Tuesday match-up.
In this 7 Game Series the 1st Game is on Tuesday the 19th of May in California, the 2nd Game is on Thursday the 21st of May also in California with all game scheduled for 9:05 PM ET. Then the 3rd Game moves to Houston on Saturday the 23rd of May. With the 4th Game also in Houston on Monday the 25th of May. The 5th Game (if needed) will move back to California on Wednesday the 27th of May, with the 6th Game (if needed) moved back to Houston on Friday the 29th of May, and the 7th and Final Game (if needed) will be played back in California on Sunday the 31st of May 2015.
So we have the Western Conference top two seed teams in this Series Final after all is said and done. The No. 1 seed Warriors struggled against the Grizzlies of Memphis, but were able to finish the series in the 6th game. The Rockets did the unbelievable coming from a 3-1 deficit to upset the Clippers of Los Angeles in their final game seven.
The 7 Game Series will see the Warriors MVP S. Curry playing against his rival for that MVP Award, J. Harden of the Rockets of Houston. Will the match-up between these two stars be decisive in this Series or can other key factors be more important. Having said that, let’s take a look at four factors that could be decisive in the winning of these Western Conference Finals.
Really who is the Most Valuable Player? There is no doubt the match-up between the NBA’s 2014-15 seasons winner S. Curry playing against his runner-up in that ranking J. Harden, should be the most talked about topic of this Western Conference Finals. Their race for that MVP Title was a close race all season, but Curry sooner than later pulled and was able to manage some 100 votes of the total 130 votes available for the Title and Harden received 25 of the votes. To date in the playoffs Curry has played like a MVP as in these playoffs he has averaged 6.7 assists, 5.2 rebounds and 28.4 points per game, and had 18 3-pointers in their last 3 games to overcome the Grizzlies in 6 games of the 7 game series.
Harden, on the other hand in the playoffs to date has had 8.1 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 26.4 points per game, and made 18 fouls shouts in the Game 7 win over the Clippers. The way these two teams play, these 2 stars will not see each other often on 1 on 1, but their play will be very important to the success of their respective teams.
The Warriors will unleash the shooting guard K. Thompson who during the playoffs with the Grizzlies he was held 18 points on average in each of those games as he was guarded b y T. Allen (nicknamed-Grindfather). In the 1st round against the Pelicans he averaged some 25 points in those playoff games. Against, the Grizzlies his best two game were when Allen was sidelined with an injury. Now the Warrior are looking for Thompson to show some scoring talent against the Rockets, since the title of the NBA’s best shooting guard is still up for grabs, and the competition is Harden of the Rockets.
Then there’s the question as to how the Rockets of Houston will match-up against the Warriors on defense? The defense of the Rockets had fallen off so far in these playoffs as the allowed for each 100 possessions some 106.9 points, while during the regular season it was only 100.4 points for each 100 possessions. The major factor for that drop in defensive stats, were their opponent were the Clippers and the Mavericks, two of the better offensive teams in their conference. Another factor was they were without their best one to one defenders in P. Beverly was out with a wrist injury and his return is questionable for this series with the Warriors. With Beverley being out the Rockets will have to rely on Harden and J. Terry to guard the Warriors ‘Splash Brothers’ – Curry and Thompson, and that does not excite Rockets fans as with Terry and Harden defending their defense has been at its worst this season. Thus the Rockets coach McHale will need to make some defensive adjustments in this game, and T. Ariza may be the answer, because he is capable of guarding either Thompson or Curry of the Warriors.
To win this 7 Game Series the Rockets will need the supporting bench of Ariza, Brewer, Corey, Terrence and Howard have to step up and play like they did in the final games against the Clippers.
So if you Bet on NBA at SBG Global or similar online betting sites, you need to know, the experts like the Warriors defense in this game and the talent of the Splash Brother, thus they see the Warriors winning the Conference title in six games.