NBA Betting – Houston Rockets at Brooklyn Nets
Houston Rockets (-6.5, 193.5 o/u) at Brooklyn Nets
The Houston Rockets will try for their fourth win in a row when they visit the Brooklyn Nets tonight at the Barclays Center (7:30 p.m. Eastern).
In their last three, the Rockets have cruised to double-digit wins over Cleveland, New York, and Utah. The recent hot-streak has moved Houston level with Memphis at the top of the Southwest Division and into third in the Western Conference. The Rockets have an impressive 13-5 record away from home and and equally impressive 10-3 record against Eastern Conference teams (losing only to Chicago, Washington, and Atlanta).
“We’re catching a rhythm,” said Houston guard James Harden, who had 30 points against the Jazz to up his NBA-leading average to 26.8 per game. “Defensively, we look pretty solid. Offensively, we were sharing the basketball, and guys were scoring. It’s a free-for-all out there.”
Tonight, the Rockets will be facing a Brooklyn team headed in the opposite direction. After winning three in a row to get to .500, the Nets have now lost five straight. The team is close to falling out of a playoff position, sitting just two games up on Charlotte and Indiana, who are tied for ninth in the Conference.
The recent skid has largely coincided with the loss of star point guard Deron Williams (rib injury). The Illinois product remains out indefinitely.
Unfortunately for the Nets, even with Williams in the lineup for most of the year, they haven’t been particularly good at home (8-11), against the West (5-6), or against teams above .500 (2-12).
When asked about his team’s frame of mind in light of the current losing streak and the loss of Williams, head coach Lionel Hollins expressed frustration. “I can’t get inside their heads,” Hollins told the Nets’ official website. “I’m sure they’re frustrated. We’ll have to find out when we play again. That’s when you determine where a team’s psyche is.”
The Rockets are 6.5-point favorites for tonight’s game, and the total is at 193.5. Houston is 10-1 straight up and 8-2-1 against the spread in its last 11 on the road against Brooklyn.
(Photo credit: Shinya Suzuki (flickr) [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode]. Photo has been cropped.)
Zack is a tour guide whose favorite sports are football, baseball, and golf. He enjoys giving obnoxious commentary during games and hopes to some day write a book about sports. His favorite underdog victory was the Diamondbacks beating the Yankees in game 7 of the World Series.
