Welcome to Las Vegas, folks. With 26 teams eliminated and three still standing in the second annual NBA Cup, the festivities have moved to the league’s unofficial western headquarters for semifinal games on Saturday and a winner-take-all title bout between Saturday’s winners on Tuesday. It’s Thunder vs. Rockets in the Saturday nightcap after the Bucks knocked off the Hawks in the opener.
Last year, the Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament, but LeBron James and Anthony Davis will be watching from home this time around. The only team making a repeat trip to Las Vegas this time around are the Bucks, and joining them are three of the NBA’s youngest teams. As it stands right now, the Thunder are +110 favorites to bring home the cup at FanDuel Sportsbook, but in a single-elimination setting, everyone has a real shot at glory.
Here’s how you can tune into Saturday’s action, and a couple of best bets for OKC vs. Houston.
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Houston Rockets
- Location: T-Mobile Arena; Las Vegas
- Time: Saturday, Dec. 14; 8:30 p.m. ET
- TV channel: ABC | Live stream: fubo (Try for free)
- Beting line: Thunder -5.5; O/U 213.5
Wednesday’s quarterfinal game was a preview of the sort of matchup Houston wants in high-leverage games. Slow. Physical. Defensive. They barely escaped the Golden State Warriors in a 91-90 slugfest. Oklahoma City’s defense is far better than Golden State’s. It’s just hard to imagine this version of the Rockets scoring enough to keep up with the Thunder in a game in which both sides are rested and bringing playoff-level game-planning into the matchup. The Pick: Thunder -5.5
My game pick should’ve indicated where I’m going with the point total. The Rockets want a rock fight, and they’re going to get a rock fight. While their defense isn’t quite as good as Oklahoma City’s, Dillon Brooks and Amen Thompson will give Shai Gilgeous-Alexander fits, and with the Thunder still struggling from deep relative to last season, there won’t be many easy points on the board for them. The Pick: Under 213
Isaiah Hartenstein has played nine games and has pulled in at least 12 rebounds in seven of them. In a high-pressure game like this with plenty of missed shots likely coming, he’ll have more opportunity than ever to vacuum in shots off of the rim. Expect plenty of boards for Hartenstein in a low-scoring game. The pick: Hartenstein Over 11.5 Rebounds
