THE HIGHLIGHTS
- Draymond Green got stuffed by the rim, which ended up costing prop bettors.
- Also, James Harden somehow didn't go over his point prop, despite 24 first-half points.
I think we can all agree that the Rockets and Warriors put up one hell of a game. The Warriors looked like they had sealed the deal after a massive third quarter, but the Rockets stormed back for the win. They even survived a last-second Steph Curry 3-point attempt after a bizarre foul call with five-tenths of a second left.
Curry's three comes up short#Rockets hang on for the game 4 win!
(via @clippittv) pic.twitter.com/4jPuEEiE5Y
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) May 23, 2018
What some folks may not have noticed amid the madness was that two player props fell just short. And both were pretty ugly.
Let's start with Draymond Green. I'd say that he had a pretty solid game considering he came up just short of a triple-double, finishing with 11 points, 13 boards and eight dimes. Not too shabby. Add in a couple steals and a block and you have a very Green-esque performance.
But let's double back and focus on those 11 points. That is a particularly unfortunate number for those who took the over on his point total prop, which was set at 11.5. Especially unfortunate considering this …
Draymond Green O/U Points: 11.5.
Draymond Green finishes with 11 points.
Hoo boy.pic.twitter.com/0MRb576chL
— The Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) May 23, 2018
Not a good look when a 6-foot-7 NBA player can't finish the dunk with absolutely nobody around him. Looked like me when I lower the rim to 9-foot-6 in the driveway.
Oh yeah, he also missed a free throw in the final minute that would've gotten the job done, too.
There's no beating that missed dunk, but James Harden prop bettors might have felt just as bad. His point total was obviously much loftier at 30.5 (o-167). With Andre Iguodala out, there were surely plenty of bettors out there expecting The Beard to go off.
Because Harden had 24 first-half points and the Rockets came back to win in the second half, one would assume he managed to get seven more points over the final two quarters. Unfortunately, he got … wait for it …
(James Harden eye-roll walk away.gif)
Six. Six more points.
He shot just 3-of-9 in the second half and amazingly failed to get to the charity stripe. In the first half, he went 8-of-17 with three 3s and made all five of his free-throw attempts. Somewhat of a notable difference there.
The Rockets got the W, but not all those who had faith in The Beard reaped the rewards.
