The Houston Rockets and Utah Jazz both feel like they belong in the group of teams expected to give the Warriors the best run for their money in the Western Conference playoffs this season. They better start showing it.
The Rockets and Jazz are both off to slow starts this year and that’s not a good thing in a conference packed with teams capable of making the postseason. They will face off this week in a pivotal matchup. The Rockets have slightly more talent but Utah gets this game at home, where it has struggled this year but is traditionally very tough to beat.
The Jazz will likely come into this matchup as the slight favorite in NBA wagering.
This NBA basketball game between the Houston Rockets and Utah Jazz will be held at the Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah at 10:30 p.m ET on Thursday, December 6th, 2018. The game will be nationally televised on TNT.
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Odds Analysis
The Rockets are 11-12 on the season a year after finishing with the best record in the NBA. Houston has lost seven of its 13 road games and would love to pull to .500 away from home with a win here.
The Jazz is 11-13 at home. It’s surprising that Utah has won just two of its eight home games, but that should be chalked up to a small sample size. The Jazz should turn it around at home, possibly beginning with this game.
Utah is one of the lowest-scoring teams in the NBA and has to hope the Rockets don’t get back to the high-scoring games they are known for. This game has a live betting capability so it’s a nice opportunity for gamblers to keep an eye on the early action and make bets once patterns have emerged.
Key Stat
5. That’s the number of losses for Houston when it doesn’t have the services of point guard Chris Paul without any wins. Luckily for the Rockets he is healthy and will be ready to roll in this one.
Paul is averaging 17.3 points, 8.1 assists and 4.7 rebounds per contest. He isn’t shooting great from the field quite yet but is a great distributor and gives Houston a key second banana alongside star James Harden.
Houston was Golden State’s top foe last year, pushing it to the brink in the playoffs. The Rockets feel like they are still that team when healthy and get a chance to show it by picking up a key road win in this matchup.
Player To Watch
Donovan Mitchell -- The Jazz don’t score a ton of points, so they will need their one elite scorer to play well against the Rockets. Mitchell is averaging 21.4 points, 3.7 assists and 1.7 steals per game. The point total looks good but Mitchell is only shooting 42.5 percent from the field and 28.1 percent from three-point range on the season.
He takes 19 field goal attempts per contest, which is nearly double anyone else on the team, and needs to be more efficient for Utah to truly hit another gear as a team.
Free NBA ATS Picks
The Jazz might be the slight favorites and they are a tough team to beat. However, the Rockets are finally starting to jell and have all their key pieces lined up for this one. Look for Harden to play really well and help Houston come away with a nice road win. The Rockets have a long way to go to move past numerous teams in the standings but this will be a nice start in NBA odds.
NBA ATS Pick: Houston Rockets 109, Utah Jazz 105
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