For a team with as much front-end talent as the Philadelphia 76ers, they shouldn’t be losing games to the Hawks and Wizards, teams on the outside of the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference. But maybe that’s exactly what they needed because they responded to those back-to-back losses and a narrow victory over the Knicks by absolutely demolishing the Minnesota Timberwolves in Jimmy Butler’s first game against his former team. This Martin Luther King Jr. Day matchup against James Harden and the Houston Rockets figures to be more of a test.
This NBA basketball game between the Houston Rockets and Philadelphia 76ers will be held at the Wells Fargo Center Philadelphia, Penn., at 8 p.m. ET on Monday, January 21, 2019. The game will be nationally televised on TNT.
We'll have NBA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for every game of the 2019 NBA season.
NBA Betting at BookMaker.eu
Live Betting Odds Analysis
Thanks mostly to Harden the Rockets have surged up the Western Conference standings. During an 18-game streak where Harden has scored at least 30 points, the Rockets are 13-5 while covering the line in 12 of those games. Houston has climbed back into the upper echelon of the West, but they have slowed a bit recently by splitting their last four outings. Even Harden’s 58 points couldn’t take down the Nets, who rallied twice late in the fourth quarter and overtime to get the victory.
The Rockets were the league’s best road team last season, but they have struggled away from home this year. Their last road match was a miserable showing in Orlando in a 116-109 defeat and Houston has already lost more games on the road this season than they did all of last. The Rockets are currently 9-12 SU and 8-13 AT on the road.
The 76ers have defended their home court in marvelous fashion this season posting an 18-4 record. But some of their losses are confounding. They were upset by Cleveland and dropped a contest to the upstart Nets. Most recently, the Sixers were felled by the Hawks in a game Joel Embiid did not play. Philly responded in championship fashion, though, dismantling the Wolves, 149-107, the last time out.
Player to Watch
Mike D’Antoni called Harden the greatest scorer in the NBA. And that was before The Beard went on a run that included at least 30 points in 18 consecutive games while reaching 40 points in nine of the last 12 outings. Harden one-upped those numbers by establishing a new season-high point total in back-to-back games.
He tallied 57 in a win over Memphis hitting 17 of 33 shots and 6 of 15 three-pointers. He was also 17 of 18 from the line. It took an extra session the next game, but Harden dropped 58 on the Nets going 16 of 34 from the floor. He was just 5 of 19 from deep, but he made up for it by hitting 21 of 23 from the stripe.
He’s tough to stop for a number of reasons. First, Harden takes a bunch of shots. He averages 23 field goal attempts and 13 three-pointers per game. He also gets to the line, attempting at least 16 freebies in three straight games and averaging 11.5 per outing.
Injury Update
Thankfully for the Rockets Harden hasn’t missed many games this season. The same can’t be said about his teammates. Chris Paul remains sidelined, James Ennis joined him on the bench and the Rockets will be without another key contributor as Clint Capela is out with a hand injury. Capela’s injury is a blow for a team that lacks size and now rebounding without him.
Capela had a pair of 21-rebound games earlier this month and leads the team with 12.6, double the season average of the next best rebounder on the team, which happens to be Harden. Capela is also the second-highest scorer on the team with 17.6 points per game. Houston can overcome the loss of CP3 and Ennis, it’s going to be more difficult to fill the shoes of Capela..
Free NBA ATS Picks
Harden is going to score since he’s the only option with Capela and Paul out. Austin Rivers has been a nice pick up and Eric Gordon has returned to take a little heat off the Beard. But look for Harden to once again carry the team on the live betting lines at BookMaker.eu. The Sixers have a tendency to play down to their competition, but that’s not going to happen in this one. Embiid will dominate down low and Ben Simmons should have a bushel of assists as the Sixers take down the Rockets on the NBA betting lines.
NBA ATS Pick: Philadelphia 116, Houston 109
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!
