The Boston Celtics head to the Toyota Center to take on the Houston Rockets. The game gets underway at 8:00 pm ET on Monday, Nov. 16 and will air on CNE and RSW.
The Rockets lost to the Mavericks 110-98 on Saturday. Terrence Jones played well for Houston, finishing with 23 points, six rebounds, and three blocks. The Celtics, meanwhile, are coming off a 100-85 win over the Thunder on Sunday. Marcus Smart led the team in scoring with 26 points on 9-for-14 shooting.
James Harden has really been playing well as of late for the Rockets, averaging 33.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 1.8 steals, 0.6 blocks, and 2.8 three-pointers over the last five games.
The Rockets are a heavy eight-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is 210 points. The Rockets look to improve upon their records of 4-6 Straight Up (SU) and 3-7 Against The Spread (ATS). The Rockets are fourth in the league in steals with 9.4 per game.
On the other side, the Celtics head into the game with records of 5-4 both ATS and SU. Boston is one of the top foul-shooting teams in the league, converting .800 of their shots from the line. Boston’s defense as a whole has been firing on all cylinders so far, ranking fifth in the NBA with only 96.0 points allowed per game. Boston’s defense is one of the top in the league, with opponents shooting only .422 from the field. They average 11.3 steals per game, good for first in the league.
The Rockets and the Celtics will be facing off in their first head-to-head clash of the season. When they last met the Rockets were winners, moving their SU record against the Celtics to 8-2 in their last 10 head-to-head meetings. Additionally, the Rockets lead the matchup ATS with a record of 7-3.
Predictions: SU Winner – Bos, ATS Winner – Bos, O/U – Under
Notes
Houston is 3-8 ATS in its last 11 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 11 of Houston’s last 16 games.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Houston’s last 6 games.
Houston is 5-10 SU in its last 15 games.
Houston is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Houston’s last 6 games at home.
Houston is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games at home.
Houston is 16-8 SU in its last 24 games at home.
Houston is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing Boston.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Houston’s last 5 games when playing Boston.
Houston is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Boston.
Boston ranks 14th in points per game with 101.6, while Houston ranks 28th in points allowed with an average of 108.3 given up.
Boston puts up an average of 99.0 points per away game (ranked 19th). Houston ranks 27th in points allowed per home game with 108.7.
When the Houston Rockets allow at least 100 points they are 4-6, while the Boston Celtics are 4-1 when they register triple digits.
The Rockets have an offensive rating of 99.8 (ranked 18th). The Celtics rank fourth for their defensive rating of 95.2.
Houston averages fewer possessions per game than Boston, with 101.6 compared to 102.0. However, the Rockets score an average of .998 points per possession, more than the .995 that the Celtics score.
Houston has an average effective field goal percentage of 47.6%. Boston is a losing 1-2 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
On average, the Boston Celtics make 23.3 assists per game and the Houston Rockets make 21.1. Boston is ranked sixth, while Houston is ranked 19th.
Houston makes an average of 5.7 blocks per game (ranked 10th), while Boston makes 5.3 blocks per game (ranked 13th).
Houston is ranked 12th in offensive rebounding. Boston ranks 22nd in defensive rebounds.
Making 11.3 steals per game, Boston is ranked first in the NBA. Houston has a winning 2-1 record when it allows at least 11 steals.
