How the public is betting Thunder vs. Rockets first-round playoff series

The Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets open their first-round series on Tuesday, August 18th at 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. James Harden and Russell Westbrook will go up against their former team, the Thunder. Chris Paul also gets revenge against the team that shipped him away for Westbrook over the offseason. We’ll take a look at how the public is betting Game 1 of the series and beyond.

This is easily the closest series if the betting splits are any indication. The Rockets are getting 62 percent of the handle as of a few days ago. There’s a chance that may have changed with the Thunder becoming a trendy upset pick. Still, James Harden going hero ball is very much in play. Plus, Russell Westbrook could return at some point after the first two games, which would be a big boost. We’re also seeing 70 percent of the bets on Houston. Again, most of the first-round series are pretty lopsided.

Here’s the rest of the schedule for Thunder-Rockets in the first round:

Game 1: Tue, Aug 18 Oklahoma City vs. Houston, 6:30 ET, TNT
Game 2: Thu, Aug 20 Oklahoma City vs. Houston, 3:30 ET, ESPN
Game 3: Sat, Aug 22 Oklahoma City vs. Houston, 6 ET, ESPN
Game 4: Mon, Aug 24 Oklahoma City vs. Houston, 4 ET, TNT
Game 5*: Wed, Aug 26 Oklahoma City vs. Houston, TBD, TBD
Game 6*: Fri, Aug 28 Oklahoma City vs. Houston, TBD, TBD
Game 7*: Sun, Aug 30 Oklahoma City vs. Houston, TBD, TBD​​​​​​