Rockets Starting to Play to Potential
The fans at Toyota Center will see the Utah Jazz and the Houston Rockets when they take their seats on Monday. The Rockets are hitting their stride during a three-game winning streak with James Harden in triple-double, MVP form.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBATV, AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Utah), AT&T SportsNet Southwest (Houston)
LINE: Rockets -5; O/U: 212.
Harden scored 29 points in a win over Portland on Tuesday to begin the winning streak. He then kicked it up a notch on Thursday against the Los Angeles Lakers. He collected 50 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds in a 126-111 triumph. The reigning MVP was at it again on Saturday at Memphis as well. He filled up the stat sheet with 32 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. The Rockets fought off the Grizzlies 105-97 to move back to .500 at 14-14.
The Jazz are trying to get their own winning streak off the ground, but can’t seem to get there. They dropped three of their last four games, including a 96-89 setback to the Orlando Magic in Mexico City on Saturday. They are struggling to find consistency on offense. That has led to a 14-16 record.
Utah was even further above sea level than usual while playing in Mexico City and shot 31.5 percent from the floor. They were an abysmal 7-of-29 from 3-point range in the loss. Center Rudy Gobert was held to six points on 2-of-6 shooting on Saturday. He has been held below his season average of 14.3 points per game in each of the last five games.
Houston is more than just Harden, though. They got a big boost on the inside Saturday from center Clint Capela. He scored 26 points on 10-of-14 shooting and added 10 rebounds. Capela’s production on the inside is helping the Rockets overcome some shooting woes on the outside from shooting guard Eric Gordon. Gordon is battling through knee soreness and is 1-of-17 from 3-point range over the last three games. Gordon was held to a season-low four points on 2-of-11 shooting in 31 minutes during Saturday’s victory.
Gerald Green is 9-of-11 from 3-point range over the last three contests.
PREDICTION: Rockets 106, Jazz 97
NBA Betting Odds & Trends
| Utah Jazz |
|---|
| The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Utah’s last 5 games |
| The Jazz are 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games on the road |
| Utah is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games on the road |
| The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Utah’s last 6 games on the road |
| The Jazz are 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Houston |
| The Jazz are 3-8 SU in its last 11 games when playing Houston |
| The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Utah’s last 5 games when playing Houston |
| The Jazz are 4-11 SU in its last 15 games when playing on the road against Houston |
| The total has gone OVER in 6 of Utah’s last 8 games when playing on the road against Houston |
| Houston Rockets |
|---|
| The total has gone OVER in 10 of Houston’s last 14 games |
| The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Houston’s last 6 games |
| The Rockets are 6-2 ATS in its last 8 games at home |
| Houston is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games at home |
| The total has gone OVER in 5 of Houston’s last 6 games at home |
| The Rockets are 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Utah |
| Houston is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games when playing Utah |
| The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Houston’s last 5 games when playing Utah |
| The Rockets are 11-4 SU in its last 15 games when playing at home against Utah |
| The total has gone OVER in 6 of Houston’s last 8 games when playing at home against Utah |
Next up:
Utah home to Golden State Wednesday, December 19
Houston home to Washington Wednesday, December 19
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