Golden State Warriors vs Houston Rockets Predictions, Player Props & Odds (April 4)

• The Golden State Warriors visit the Houston Rockets on Thursday night
• Houston has fallen three games behind Golden State for the final postseason berth in the West
• See the Warriors vs Rockets odds, player props, and predictions for Thursday, April 4

On Thursday night, the Golden State Warriors (41-34, 22-15 away, 41-33-1 ATS) will visit the only team that can keep them out of the 2024 postseason when they face the Houston Rockets (38-37, 26-12 home, 42-31-2 ATS) at the Toyota Center at 7:10 pm CT/8:10 pm ET.

Houston moved within a game of the Warriors for the #10 seed in the West during a recent 11-game win streak, but after dropping two in a row – and watching the Dubs stretch their own win streak to five – Houston is now three games back with just six to play, making Thursday’s game a de facto must-win.

Unfortunately for the shorthanded Rockets, the odds favor the visiting Warriors by a not-insignificant margin.

Golden State Warriors vs Houston Rockets Odds

Golden State is a 4.5-point road favorite in Thursday’s NBA odds and -165 on the moneyline. The Rockets come back as +140 home underdogs despite a very strong 26-12 record at home this year. The game total is 228.5.

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If the NBA playoff bracket holds the way it is now, the Warriors will face the #9 Lakers in Los Angeles in the 9-vs-10 Play-In Game in the West, with the winner facing the loser of the 7-vs-8 game for the final spot in the first round proper.

Rockets Win Streak Comes to a Crashing Halt

Houston was the hottest team in the NBA a few days ago, carrying an 11-game win streak into Sunday’s home tilt with Dallas. But I warned that the Rockets were a bit of a wolf in sheep’s clothing: only three of the 11 wins came against teams in the top eight in their respective conferences, and two of those were against a Cleveland team missing Donovan Mitchell.

The Mavericks, who were riding a six-game win streak of their own at the time, exposed Houston during a 125-107 decision which saw the Mavs lead by 21 a halftime.

Houston put in a better effort next time out, but fell 113-106 at Minnesota as 7.5-point road underdogs (improving their ATS record to 42-31-2 in the process, second-best in the NBA).

The Rockets continue to soldier on without leading scorer Alperen Sengun (21.1, 9.3 RPG, 5.0 APG) who is likely to miss the remainder of the regular season after suffering an ankle injury on March 10.

Houston is also still missing Tari Eason (9.8 PPG, 7.0 RPG), who’s been out since early January.

Jalen Green (20.0 PPG) continued his late-season surge against the T-Wolves on Tuesday, scoring 26 points and adding six assists. The 2021 second-overall pick has now scored at least 26 in nine of his last ten games.

Warriors Run Win Streak to Five Against Mavericks

In a fight for their postseason lives, the Warriors have responded with vigor the past two weeks, rattling off five straight Ws to put some breathing room between themselves and the Rockets. On Tuesday, Golden State stopped Dallas’ win streak at seven with a 104-100 home victory in a pick’em game.

Andrew Wiggins (13.0 PPG, 4.5 RPG) had one of his best games of a fairly ugly season, dropping a team-high 23 points of 50% shooting. The big night from Wiggins was necessary with Steph Curry (26.4 PPG, 5.0 APG) scoring just 13 points on an egregiously bad 5-of-18 performance from the field.

Golden State is suffering from significant injuries of its own. Jonathan Kuminga (16.3 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 2.1 APG) is questionable due to a knee injury. The team’s second-leading scorer has missed four straight due to the same injury.

Dario Saric (8.1 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.3 APG) is also out with a knee injury.

Golden State vs Houston Player Props

NBA player props as of April 4 at DraftKings. Claim the DraftKings promo code for new users. 

Coming off a 13-point game against the Mavericks, Curry is listed with a team-high point total of 26.5 while Houston’s Jalen Green is at the exact same number. Draymond Green and Jabari Smith Jr both have rebound totals of 8.5, while Rockets point guard Fred VanVleet has the highest assist number at 7.5.

Warriors vs Rockets Prediction

Houston is not a playoff calibre team this season, especially not without Sengun. But the Rockets have played extremely well at home (almost) all season, and tonight’s game is the closest they will get to a playoff atmosphere this year, barring a late miracle.

Look for the Rockets to come out with their best one-two punch in the first quarter of a must-win game.

I’m also tepid on Curry tonight. Houston is ninth in the league in D-Rating (112.3) and Curry has been held under 23 points in four of his last five games.

GSW vs HOU picks:

• Rockets first quarter moneyline (+110)
• Curry under 26.5 points (-110)