The Houston Rockets took all the drama out of their second round series against the Jazz, going on the road the past two games and coming away with easy wins. Now they have a chance to close out this series and get ready for a highly-anticipated Western Conference Finals showdown against the Golden State Warriors.
The Rockets are back home for Game 5 and will be sizable favorites to take care of business. Houston’s James Harden and Chris Paul are both playing at an elite level and will aim to bring home the victory so the Rockets can dispatch of the Jazz.
Utah beat Houston on the road in Game 2 but are expected to go down without much of a fight in this one in NBA basketball wagering.
Game 5 of this NBA Playoff Series is on Tuesday, May 8, 2018 at 8 p.m. ET at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The contest will be nationally televised on TNT.
We'll have NBA odds at BookMaker.eu available for every game of the 2018 NBA Playoffs.
Odds Analysis
The Rockets have been listed as 12-point favorites to wrap up this series in Game 5. Houston has covered easily each of the past two games and would love to cruise to another victory.
The scoring total has been listed at 209.5 points. Game 4 was played at a slow pace, and thus the “under” may be the more popular selection. The moneyline odds have not yet been released but rest assured the Rockets will be the heavy favorites to win this game outright in NBA basketball odds.
Last Time Out
Behind a big night from Chris Paul, the Rockets rolled to a 100-87 win over the Jazz in Game 4. Paul finished with 27 points and 12 rebounds in the victory and also had six assists.
James Harden added 24 points in the win and Clint Capela pulled down a team-high 15 rebounds in addition to 12 points. He was also an impact player defensively, blocking numerous shots and generally being a thorn in the side of any Utah player who drove into the paint. Donovan Mitchell finished as the leading scorer for Utah with 25 points, but he shot 8-of-24 from the feld.
As a unit, the Jazz shot 38.6 percent on the night which is not a recipe for defeating this high-powered Rockets team. Now, Utah faces the task of fighting for their lives in Game 5 on the road.
Injury Report
The Jazz are dealing with several different injuries heading into Game 5. Point guard Ricky Rubio has not played for the entire series because of a hamstring injury. He was listed as questionable heading into Game 4 but was not quite ready. He is getting close and may be ready for this one, which would be a nice boost.
Jazz forward Derrick Favors played limited minutes in Game 4 because of a sprained ankle, while forward Dante Exum hurt his hamstring in the second half. The injury looked serious and Exum could miss Game 5. He was having a nice outing until getting sidelined by the ailment, and all of the injuries are going to make it hard for Utah to keep up in this one.
Free NBA ATS Picks
The Rockets consistently get better shots than Utah, and the Jazz will need to shoot really well to have a shot at the upset. Houston will want to close out this game and should certainly get the win. The spread is pretty large, so take Utah to score enough points down the stretch for the narrow cover.
But the Rockets will move on to set up the titanic Western Conference Finals clash with the Warriors in NBA basketball gambling.
NBA ATS Pick: Rockets 109, Jazz 98
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