Game 5 of the Oklahoma City Thunder vs Houston Rockets was initially scheduled to be played on Wednesday. As you probably know, the Milwaukee Bucks decided to boycott their own game, and the rest of the league went along with it. While playoffs were in doubt, players realized playing would give them the largest platform, so we play on. The NBA picks and odds for this game will be similar to what was discussed a couple days ago.
With fear of going down by three games in the series, the Thunder won both of their “home” games to tie up the series with the Rockets, 2-2. Team basketball has outplayed the superstar in James Harden the past two games. Today, someone needs to take the series lead, and the NBA odds have this being the closest projected game of the day, making NBA picks very interesting.
The following will find the best NBA odds for Game 5 of the Thunder – Rockets series, break down the game itself and give you some bets to place. Let’s get into some NBA picks and predictions based off NBA Odds from our new OddsShopper tool.
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NBA Picks and Predictions based on NBA Odds Shopping | Thunder vs Rockets | Aug 29
Oklahoma City Thunder (44-28) vs. Houston Rockets (44-28)
Date: Saturday, Aug. 29, 2020
Time: 6:30 p.m. ET
Venue: ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex – Kissimmee, FL
Coverage: TNT
The Thunder were so close to going down 0-3 in the series, which is a death sentence. However, Game 3 went to overtime, Harden fouled out and Chris Paul took over. Trailing heading into the fourth quarter of Game 4, Oklahoma City again relied on a strong finish to win the game.
It’s not really fair to say they are playing more team basketball than Houston, as both teams are essentially using an eight-man rotation. Scoring isn’t more balanced, as the Thunder had four players in double digits, compared to six for the Rockets. Simply, it has felt like the Thunder had multiple players that can win possessions on their own, whereas the Rockets relied heavily on Harden to score himself or set up his teammates.
Harden scored 32 points and had 15 assists last game. That means he was directly involved on well over half of Houston’s 114 points. While he is one of the best offensive players on the planet, this team missed Russell Westbrook. Luckily, it was announced that Westbrook would be making his 2020 postseason debut today, after looking explosive in practice.
With Westbrook returning, the NBA odds have Houston as the clear favorites. However, this game still has the closest spread of the day. It is expected to be the most competitive game to watch tonight, so make sure you tune in.
NBA Picks and Predictions: Thunder vs. Rockets NBA Odds Shopping
Using Awesemo’s OddsShopper tool, we can easily compare the NBA odds for Thunder vs Rockets across the major sports books. The odds expressed are from 10:45 a.m. ET on August 29th, so make sure to check out the OddsShopper tool yourself to get the most up to date NBA odds.
Spread
Thunder +5 (-109) — SugarHouse, BetRivers and DraftKings
Rockets -4.5 (-110) — BetMGM
Point Total
Over: 227 (-108) — SugarHouse, BetRivers and DraftKings
Under: 227.5 (-110) — BetMGM, FanDuel and PointsBet
Thunder vs. Rockets NBA Betting Trends
- Oklahoma City leads the season series with Houston, 4-3.
- The total has hit the over in six of Oklahoma City’s last eight games.
- Oklahoma City is 7-2 against the spread (ATS) in its last nine games against Houston.
- Houston is 2-5 ATS in its last seven games.
- The total has hit the over in four of Houston’s last six games against Western Conference opponents.
Thunder vs. Rockets NBA Picks + Prop Bets
Eric Gordon – Points: Under 16.5 (-134)
Russell Westbrook returns to the lineup tonight, which means Houston doesn’t need Eric Gordon’s offense as much. Gordon has played over 30 minutes in each game this series. However, Awesemo has him projected for just 28.5 minutes tonight. When sharing the floor with both Harden and Westbrook, Gordon has averaged just 0.29 points per minute. He’ll likely share the floor with the two guards for most of him minutes, so I expect this under to hit.
Chris Paul – Assists: Under 6.5 (-122)
Even though Paul is the straw that stirs the drink for the Thunder, he is not a high-assist guy. He has totaled just 10 assists over the past three games, including just eight total in their two wins. Look for him to be more of a scorer than a facilitator.
Chris Paul – Made Threes: Over 1.5 (-167)
Again, look for him to be more of a scorer tonight. With the Thunder entering the game as slight underdogs, the game script is set up perfectly for Paul to be aggressive offensively and put up a lot of threes. He has made and least two 3-pointers in three of the four games this series, including both of the games they lost.
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