It’s official. The Houston Rockets are championship contenders. A hot start has been followed up by a lot more winning and the team led by James Harden and Chris Paul is looking like a legitimate threat to Golden State’s spot atop the NBA. Houston has won 14 straight games and has the best record in the NBA, and will aim to pick up another win at home this week against the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Rockets are only 1.5 games ahead of the Warriors in the West so they must keep pushing forward as they would love to have home court advantage throughout the postseason. The Clippers, meanwhile, are struggling badly and are on pace to miss the playoffs unless they can manage to turn things around in a hurry.
This war on the floor will go down Friday, December 22, 2017, at 8 p.m. ET at Toyota Center. The game will be televised live on ESPN.
We'll have NBA odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the NBA Friday schedule.
Odds Analysis
The Rockets are 25-4 straight up and 16-12-1 against the spread. Houston has gone 15-11-1 against the spread as the favorite on the year and will certainly be favored in this one as well.
The Clippers are 11-18 straight up and 14-15 against the spread. Los Angeles has covered in seven of 15 tries as the underdogs on the season. The Clippers are 8-8 against the spread on the road this year.
Key Stat
13. That’s how many games in a row the Rockets have won heading into this week’s games against the Lakers and the Clippers.
Houston started off the season with a win over Golden State, topping the defending champs by a single point behind a double-double from Harden. Since then, the team has kept rolling with wins over Cleveland and San Antonio so far this season.
Harden remains the undoubted leader of the Rockets, averaging 31.3 points and nine assists per game, but the addition of veteran point guard Paul has been huge. There were questions marks heading into the season on how the two stars would work together on the floor, but it’s worked out beautifully.
The big test will come in the playoffs, but for now the Rockets are sitting pretty.
Player to Watch
Paul — The nine-time NBA All Star will face off against his former team for the first time since he was traded to the Rockets this summer. Paul was with the Clippers for six seasons, leading the team to the playoffs every year.
Paul missed a month of games with a knee injury earlier this season, and with him active, Houston is 15-0. He seems to be the missing link that just might power the Rockets past Golden State this year.
Paul has had a strong showing in December so far, averaging 23.4 points and 8.4 assists per game and will certainly look for that to carry over in this matchup.
The Clippers were hoping to rely on star forward Blake Griffin, but he has missed the past several weeks with a sprained knee. In the past Los Angeles had enough depth to overcome injuries to one of their stars, but not any more with Paul gone.
Free NBA ATS Picks
This is shaping up to be a rout. The Rockets are rolling along and the Clippers are going to be badly outmanned. Los Angeles has a great defender in the paint in DeAndre Jordan, but the problem is that Houston takes a bunch of shots from three-point range.
The only way the Rockets lose this game is if they come out flat and shoot horribly. That’s not going to happen since Paul should have plenty of motivation. Take the Rockets to blow out hapless Los Angeles in a fast-paced showdown.
NBA Odds: Rockets 120, Clippers 109
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