The Golden State Warriors aim to keep the pressure on the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.
The pregame narrative: Golden State won the series opener behind some dogged defensive play. I’ll back the Dubs to at least cover a teased-up spread alongside prop bets on Steph Curry and Alperen Sengun in this +310 wager.
Check out my Warriors vs. Rockets play-in SGP predictions for April 23.
Warriors vs. Rockets predictions
Parlay: Warriors +7.5 | Curry 20+ points | Sengun over 10.5 rebounds (+310)
Warriors +7.5 (-240): Golden State is coming off an impressive win in a game which was never really close. The Dubs jumped out to a 13-point halftime lead and eventually stretched it to 21 before securing a comfy 95-85 victory.
Houston shot a horrendous 39.1% from the field, and while I expect it to improve, you can’t discount the ferocity of Golden State’s defence.
The Warriors had the league’s best defensive rating (109.0) since Jimmy Butler joined the lineup on Feb. 8, per NBA.com.
Golden State is 11-6 ATS as a road underdog this season and is 4-2 straight up against Houston in the last six meetings between these teams (with one loss coming by a point).
I feel safe tacking on an extra four points to the standard +3.5 spread.
NBA SGP legs
Curry 20+ points (-295): Nothing is “free” in sports betting, but this seems like a layup.
- Curry is averaging 30.5 points in his last 14 playoff games dating back to the 2023 postseason.
- In that span, he’s 14-0 against this line, and only finished with fewer than 27 points twice.
The future Hall-of-Famer had a typically efficient performance in Game 1, scoring 31 points on 12-of-19 shooting.
Houston is a great defensive team, and held Curry to three points in the last regular-season meeting between these teams.
But the chef likes to turn up the heat in the postseason, and I’ll gladly ride with Curry keeping a 15-game streak of clearing this milestone in the playoffs alive.
Sengun over 10.5 rebounds (+105): I rode with Sengun on this exact market in Game 1 and got burned when the big man finished with nine boards after logging seven through the game’s early goings.
But the logic still remains on why he’s a strong pick to rebound (literally, and figuratively):
- Golden State has allowed the most rebounds per game to opposing centres over the last 30 days (17.56) and the third-most over the entire season (16.41).
- 6-foot-6 Draymond Green is playing centre, and 6-foot-7 Jimmy Butler is the tallest player in the Warriors’ starting lineup.
Sengun played Golden State two weeks before the postseason began and finished that game with 14 rebounds in 33 minutes. That was the third-straight game against the Warriors where he cleared this total.
I’ll go back to the well with him at plus money on Wednesday.
Warriors vs. Rockets predictions made at 2:30 p.m. ET 04/22/2025.
Avery joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2022 before stepping into a full-time role soon after. He loves betting on and analyzing golf — mainly because it’s easier than actually playing — but is a fan of all sports, from the NFL to the UFC.