The Houston Rockets have started to right the ship to their season. A 126-97 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday put them back at .500, and they're going to have a chance to really continue this run with yet another game against Kobe Bryant and the gang this Thursday.
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SCHEDULING
Live bettors will clearly know who the better of these two teams are. Just based on the fact that Houston was -11.5 and won by 29 five days ago when these two teams met will tell you all you need to know.
However, there has to be a worry about this road trip the Rockets are on. They have to play in Denver on Monday and in Sacramento on Tuesday before going over to Tinseltown on Thursday, and with the Clippers coming to the Toyota Center on Saturday, there's a real chance that this game is overlooked. You'll be able to tell relatively early if the Rockets are interested though, knowing they're being outscored by a 54.2-51.3 margin in the first half this year.
There might not be such a thing as great scheduling for the Lakers, but this isn't such a bad spot. They have a few days in a row to get ready for a home game against the Bucks on Tuesday, and there's an off day before hosting this game against the Rockets.
KEY MATCHUP
The Lakers are going to have to find some bigs to put bodies on the Houston bigs in this game. The Rockets had 15 offensive rebounds when these two teams played last week, and they were +12 on the glass overall. Terrence Jones had three of Houston's seven blocks on the day as well.
We all know that Dwight Howard has a little bit of extra motivation to take down the team that he spurned for Houston just a couple off-seasons ago. D-12 had 18 points and 12 rebounds on a near-flawless 7-for-8 shooting from the floor in that game. If he's just as efficient in this one, 20/20 isn't out of the question.
Clint Capela added 10 rebounds, while three other players had at least five boards.
Meanwhile, we just don't know where the Lakers are turning to in the paint. Roy Hibbert isn't holding his own, and Robert Sacre and Julius Randle aren't the types of players who are going to be bodying with all of the different bigs Houston is going to throw LA's way.
KEY STAT
Over the course of their last nine games, the Rockets have averaged 111.7 points per game. In a related story, they're 7-2 SU and 6-3 ATS in those games, their best run of the NBA season.
The real key is just consistently running. They're averaging over 20 fast break points per game in that run and had 35 against the Lakers. That's how you put a team like this one away. The Lakers don't have the mental toughness to be able to get back from a big run, and Houston is the team to put together that big 18-2 stretch.
The Lakers were down 26-25 late in the first quarter to these Rockets, only to see the score become 51-29 six minutes later in the second quarter. Live bettors need to be aware of when this run is going to happen. Just because Houston goes on a 10-0 run and the Lakers call a timeout though, that doesn't mean that the run can't get worse. It's better to bet on runs instead of betting against them, particularly when live betting a game like this.
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook! The showdown between the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers will start at 10:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, December 17, 2015, at the Staples Center. The contest will be broadcast on TNT.
