The Houston Rockets have raced out to the best record in the NBA and will aim to keep it going this week. They should be sizable favorites when they host the Charlotte Hornets in a regular season matchup.
The Golden State Warriors are within a half-game of Houston in the standings but are without star Stephen Curry. The Rockets would love to increase their lead during this stretch and have to take care of business against inferior foes like this.
Charlotte is one of the worst teams in the NBA and doesn’t have nearly the talent to keep up. The bigger question will be if the Rockets can cover a spread that will likely be set in the double digits.
At 9:30 p.m. ET, tune into ESPN for live television coverage of this NBA basketball game on Wednesday, December 13, 2017, at Toyota Center.
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Odds Analysis
The Rockets have been favored in 24 games this season and have covered in 13 of them. They are only 5-6 against the spread at home this season and hope to improve on that in this matchup.
The Hornets are 9-16 overall and 10-14-1 against the spread. Charlotte has gone 3-8-1 against the spread as an underdog this year.
Player to Watch
Kemba Walker —The Hornets’ point guard leads the team in scoring this season, averaging 22.6 points a game. He’ll be a key piece in helping Charlotte stay in contention in this one, especially since the Rockets are such a high scoring team.
Walker finished with a team-high 26 points against the Rockets the first time around, but didn’t get quite enough help from his teammates as Houston won 109-93. He is shooting 43.4 percent from the field and 35.3 percent from three-point range. Those types of numbers probably won’t be enough to help his team pull off the upset.
If Walker can get hot from downtown, then things could get a little more interesting and he would likely help his team cover the spread. While the Hornets need a nice all-around effort, it starts with Walker.
Key Stat
15-1. That’s Houston’s record since the start of November. The Rockets bring a nine-game winning streak into the start of their seven-game home stand this week which starts on Monday against the Pelicans.
Eight of those fifteen wins have been on the road, with the team’s most recent victory coming on Saturday in Portland. The Rockets have the best point-differential in the NBA as there is every reason to think this team will be in contention for the title when the calendar flips to 2018.
James Harden continues to lead the way for Houston. He averaged 34.9 points and 10.1 assists per game in the month of November and finished with 40 points in the Rockets win over the Trail Blazers Saturday. Chris Paul is back after an injury and Houston has done a great job of seamlessly adding him to the fold.
Free NBA ATS Picks
It’s easy to figure out which team will win this one straight-up, as the Rockets should be huge favorites on the moneyline, to the point where it won’t pay off hardly at all to choose them there. Instead the focus should be on the spread.
Houston is going to have to capture this game by a healthy amount of points in order to cover. The Rockets are playing so well that this one should be in control by the middle of the third quarter.
There is no one on the Hornets who will be able to corral Harden as he should dominate and the Rockets will cruise to the victory.
NBA Odds: Rockets 125, Hornets 107
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