The Houston Rockets were the top seed in the Western Conference, winning 65 games on the season, but they know that the playoffs is another matter entirely. It's not that they were surprised by anything the Golden State Warriors did in Game 1 of the West Finals, it's that they were not able to do what THEY usually do, and they know they didn't have a lot of time to make adjustments. Game 2 takes place on Wednesday at 9:05 PM ET at the Toyota Center, and remember that BetAnySports customers will have the opportunity to place wagers even after the opening tip, as they utilize what is available through the technology furnished by Live Betting Ultra.

In Game 1, Kevin Durant could not be stopped, as he sank six triples on his way to 37 points. Trevor Ariza, the Rockets' best wing defender, who was supposed to make Durant's job more difficult, got into foul trouble and was pretty close to useless in the second half. The Warriors scored a 119-106 decision, and now Houston is in danger of going down 0-2 on their own home floor, with a trip to Oakland on deck.

That might be the bad news for Houston is that Steph Curry hasn't even heated up yet; he had only one shot from pre-point range in the opener. But really, this is the whole problem with facing off against Golden State – if you stop one guy, there are three others can hurt you badly. That's not quite the case with the Rockets.

In the NBA playoff betting odds that have been posted on this game by the folks at BetAnySports, the Rockets are a short favorite:

Houston Rockets -1.5
Golden State Warriors +1.5

Over 224.5 points -110
Under 224.5 points -110

There are some things that Houston is going to have to step in and change for Wednesday's game. We do not expect that one of them will be the dominance that James Harden has over the basketball; he scored 41 points, and actually did not have a bed outing on the offensive end, making 14 of 24 shots, including five triples. He will get his points, and Chris Paul will get some too.

But when it came to the fast break, Golden State was a runaway winner, scoring 18 points in transition, compared to only three for the Rockets. That is something Houston is going to have to change, as they averaged 11.4 points and transition during the regular season. And obviously part of that is to play better defense – they allow the Warriors to shoot 52.5% – but also to get down the floor quickly after made baskets as well. You see, 50.2% of Houston's field-goal attempts during the season were from three-point range, but that percentage was down to 43% in Game 1. We know that this is an analytics-heavy organization, so we know that they want to increase the volume of triples.

We also understand that their intention is to get off shots earlier in their possessions. They took up 20 seconds or more in the shot clock 20% of the time in the opening game, and they have three shot clock violations as well. One of the things Mike D'Antoni always liked to do is to get off open shots before the defense as a chance to set up. So look for more concentration in this area, even though Houston did not play with the fastest pace this season (in fact, Golden State was actually faster).

But since we know what strategy might work for the Rockets, and what they seek to employ, we might reasonably look for more scoring in this game. We certainly think we can see some more from Curry and Ariza, and also on fast-break opportunities. So we are going OVER the total of 224.5 points, as it is posted at BetAnySports, we get reduced juice for better value, Live Betting Ultra for real-time wagering after the game begins, and multiple deposit options, including your Visa card, person-to-person transfers (like Western Union) and the virtual currency of Bitcoin, which is fast and easy with their automated system, and NEVER incurs a transaction fee!

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