NBA Game of the Day: Houston Rockets at Los Angeles Clippers
Game three of the Western Conference semifinals tips off tonight at 10:35 PM eastern time when the Los Angeles Clippers (56-26) host the Houston Rockets (56-26). These teams split the first two games in Houston, and the series now shifts to Los Angeles.
The Clippers opened as 2.5-point favorites at the market-setting CRIS sportsbook and are currently receiving 64% of spread bets at our seven contributing sportsbooks. This one-sided public action moved the line to -4.5 across the sports betting market place.
Clippers star Chris Paul was the key to success in Los Angeles’ first round series against San Antonio, however, the All-Star point guard has missed the first two games of this series due to a hamstring injury. Paul had been listed as questionable for the past few days, but on Friday afternoon we updated his status to probable. This news pushed the Clippers spread from -4.5 to -5.5.
#NBA #Clippers – Chris Paul, Hamstring – is upgraded to probable Friday (5/8) vs. Houston
— Sports Insights (@SportsInsights) May 8, 2015
Bettors can keep up with the latest injury news by visiting our free NBA injuries page or following us on Twitter. If Paul is unable to play, Austin Rivers would take his place in the starting lineup.
It’s interesting to note that we have sharp money indicators on both the Rockets and Clippers in this game. Early betting pounded the Clippers -2.5, which triggered a steam move at GT Bets (13-10, +1.7 units won). The line continued to climb until we finally saw buy back on the Rockets when the line reached +4.5. This triggered a reverse line move at Sports Interaction (26-15, +8.5 units).
When we see contradicting bet signals on both sides of a matchup, we typically advise that bettors lay off. However, we did notice some very interesting line movement involving the over/under.
Both of these teams feature an elite offense, which explains why the total opened at 217. However, this game features three refs who have historically been very profitable for under bettors:
- Ken Mauer: 249-214 (+24.3 units)
- David Guthrie: 235-202 (+22.2 units)
- John Goble: 254-234 (+8.3 units)
Although betting on the total has been equally split, the total for this game has dropped from 217 to 216. In addition, one of our top performing bet signals was triggered on the under. Earlier this morning (shortly after the officials were announced) a steam move was triggered on the under at BetDSI (163-111, +30.7 units won). This is an excellent indicator that sharp money likes the under in tonight’s matchup.
These numbers are always subject to change, so we recommend that bettors track the latest odds and betting trends on our free odds page.
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David Solar is the Content Manager for Sports Insights and can be reached directly at David@sportsinsights.com.
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