The NBA playoffs continue on Tuesday with Game 2 of a Western Conference first-round series between the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers at 10:30 pm ET on NBC. Los Angeles, the fourth seed, is looking to take control of the series after winning the opener 107-98 on Saturday inside Crypto.com Arena.
Let’s dive into my Rockets vs. Lakers Game 2 prediction.
Houston Rockets vs. Los Angeles Lakers odds
Money line: Rockets -196 / Lakers +164
Spread: Rockets -4.5 (-115) / Lakers +4.5 (-105)
Total: Over 205.5 (-115) / Under 205.5 (-105)
Houston Rockets vs. Los Angeles Lakers best bet: Over 205.5 (-115)
The total has come down from 208.5 in Game 1. In three head-to-head meetings during the regular season, the totals were 231.5, 223.5, and 222.5. There is no denying that the defensive intensity is different in the playoffs, but this is still a very shap decline that creates value on the over — which is 6-2 in the Rockets’ last eight contests.
Los Angeles is without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, but role players have been stepping up. Luke Kennard went off to the tune of a game-high 27 points on 5-for-5 shooting from three-point range in the series opener. All five Lakers starters scored 14 points or more, including both LeBron James and Deandre Ayton with 19. LeBron also had 13 assists.
In Game 1, 205 total points were scored — not a bad output considering that Houston without Kevin Durant and shot 38 percent from the field — including 33 percent from the land of plenty. Additionally, L.A. attempted only 66 total shots after grabbing just three offensive boards. As if that isn’t enough, the two sides missed a combined 17 free-throws and made just 66.7 percent of attempts from the charity stripe. None of those statistics can be expected to play out again in Game 2.
Durant will probably be a game-time decision due to his knee injury. Given that the Rockets are currently -4.5 favorites, however, it is clear that the bookmakers expect him to be available. After all, this is almost must-win situation for the visitors. They really can’t afford to fall behind 2-0 to an opponent that is missing Doncic and Reaves. Durant on the floor, of course, would make Houston’s offense much more of a threat.