The Houston Rockets have a chance to become the fifth team in NBA history to force a Game 7 after going down 3-0 Friday night, when they go on the road against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Houston will be without star forward Kevin Durant for the fifth time in six games tonight, but the Rockets have found some rhythm without their best player in Games 4 and 5.
Meanwhile, the Orlando Magic will look to close out the Detroit Pistons in Game 6 without Franz Wagner, whose absence was heavily felt in Detroit's Game 5 win.
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First Pick: Los Angeles Lakers +3.5 over Houston Rockets
Rundown: Despite being up 3-0 at one point, the Lakers have been underdogs in four of the six games of the series, and have covered in three.
Even without Durant, the sportsbooks have shown belief in Houston’s chances against an undermanned Lakers team.
However, LA has gotten back Austin Reaves late in this series, and while his playoff return was an abysmal 4-for-16 performance, his presence requires major focus from a Houston defense that has started to figure things out.
The Rockets have stopped crashing the boards in an effort to stop the Lakers from getting out in transition, and it's worked wonders against a Lakers team that is incredibly reliant on LeBron James for any offense.
However, with Reaves back, the offensive burden on James is significantly lightened.
Arguably the greatest player of all time, it’s unlikely the first ever 3-0 comeback happens against James, who should close the door Friday night.
Second Pick: Detroit Pistons -3.5 over Orlando Magic
Rundown: While Orlando going up 3-1 on Detroit was the shock of the postseason so far, the Wagner injury has opened the door for a desperate Pistons team.
Both offenses struggle with a lack of offensive creators, but while the Pistons’ weaknesses have been exposed in this series, the Magic’s offensive troubles have been the catalyst for its up-and-down season.
Without Wagner, the burden on Paolo Banchero increases, and he rose to the occasion in Game 5, dropping 45 points in arguably the best playoff game of his career.
Efficiency has been a struggle for the Magic star, and a regression to the mean for Banchero in Game 6 should lead to the Pistons pushing this to seven.