As the NBA regular season has reached its final day, we’ve got several games still to be played. The 76ers and Rockets will meet in Orlando for one final tune-up before the beginning of the playoffs on Monday.
Each team is without one of their two All-Stars, as a knee injury ended Ben Simmons season early, and Russell Westbrook is nursing a quad injury that Houston hopes won’t last too long. The 76ers are already locked into a playoff matchup with Boston, so we’ll see how they handle minutes for all of their starters.
Houston will be going up against Chris Paul and OKC, the man they traded there a year ago. It is primed to be an exciting series with the star guards leading the way for each team. Height-wise, outside of the center spot, things could be pretty close.
And for today’s matchup, look for the three-point shot to be the determining factor in picking the winner. It will be a good matchup today, as the teams prepare for the next part of the season.
ODDS:
Houston is favored by 4.5 points tonight in the regular-season finale.
76ers Looking for Momentum
They have played hard in every game in Orlando, but it hasn’t led to results for the 76ers. Coming in as the sixth seed, they were unable to move up past the Pacers and now find themselves facing a team filled with talented players at every position. Anything can happen in the bubble, but this will be tough for them.
If Joel Embiid or Al Horford plays tonight, they would be wise to establish them in the post. Rather than take the three balls that might be given to them, use your size to your advantage. Don’t let it dictate how you run the offense on every sequence, but they would be wise to play through them for stretches.
Houston lulls teams into the size trap, and it works often. Seeing a size advantage, the team will plan just to toss it to the center every time. Well, then you lose your rhythm. It’s about quality over quantity.
One More Win for Houston?
Without Russell Westbrook, this is a very different Houston team. Not only do we not see the flashy passes every time down, but ball movement is very different. Austin Rivers did score 41 points two games ago but followed it up by adding just three last game.
James Harden takes on a lot more responsibility with Westbrook not in the lineup. But on the bright side, they did finally get Eric Gordon back. He got hurt a few weeks ago in the scrimmage portion of the restart. And Jeff Green has continued to shine with his second opportunity after Utah cut him early on in the season.
We’ll see what they have going for them tonight.
One Time for H-Town
A win for Harden and co. will give them a confidence boost heading into the OKC series.
Free Play: HOU -4.5
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