Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Vegas Play of the Day: San Antonio Spurs at Houston Rockets

Kawhi Leonard

Alonzo Adams / AP

San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard (2) drives to the basket around Oklahoma City Thunder guard Andre Roberson (21) during the second half of Game 3 of a second-round NBA basketball playoff series, Friday, May 6, 2016, in Oklahoma City. San Antonio won 100-96.

We’ve entered the fourth season of the annual South Point-lined Play of the Day competition, effective July 1.

Starting bankrolls have reset to $10,000, with the maximum bet being to win $1,000 and the minimum wager $300. Ray Brewer won back-to-back titles in the 2015-2016 and 2016-17 seasons, after Taylor Bern prevailed in 2014-2015.

San Antonio Spurs plus-8 at Houston Rockets: $330 to win $300

Everything is set up for the Spurs to have a great performance tonight. The Rockets are practically being written into the NBA Finals after 11 straight victories, and a perfect 12-0 record with Chris Paul.

The hype has swelled their betting lines into inflated territory, a big reason why they’ve failed to cash in their last three games. The Spurs, meanwhile, are undervalued as usual.

They’re the closest to full strength they’ve been all season with Kawhi Leonard back from an ankle injury. He only played 16 minutes and looked rusty in a loss to Dallas on Tuesday, but it shouldn’t take him long to be back to a dominating force.

He should play a lot more minutes tonight, and his teammates will also be fresher after a three-day break. The Rockets have played twice in that span.

It’s not a huge advantage but probably worth a point or two on the betting line. Instead, San Antonio is getting more points than they should even if the two teams were both in ideal situations.

There’s a reason Gregg Popovich is the most reliable coach at covering point spreads in the league. His teams come through in spots like this.

Granger (11-9, $12,419), Keefer (15-16-1, $9,441), Brewer (17-17, $8,570), Grimala (8-9, $8,205)

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.

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