The Houston Rockets (21-4) will try to continue their 10-game winning streak against the Charlotte Hornets (10-16) at Toyota Center. The game will air on ESPN at 9:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, December 13, 2017.
Houston opened as a 12.5-point favorite, while the game’s Over/Under (O/U) has been set at 220 points.
Charlotte Hornets at Houston Rockets Betting Prediction
The Hornets will be hoping for a similar outcome after topping the Oklahoma City Thunder in their last game, 116-103. Charlotte’s 0.611 effective field goal percentage was their largest advantage over Oklahoma City, who had a mark of 0.465. The Hornets’ mark was above their season average of 0.487. With 23 points on 9-for-13 shooting, Dwight Howard led Charlotte in scoring.
The last time the Rockets played, they were victorious over the New Orleans Pelicans, 130-123. One of Houston’s biggest strengths was getting to the charity stripe. They made 25 trips to the line, while New Orleans went just 13 times. With 26 points, 17 assists and six steals, Houston’s James Harden had a good performance.
Second-chance opportunities might be hard to find for Houston in this matchup. The Rockets are among the league’s elite on the offensive glass, ranking 14th in offensive rebounding percentage at 21.9 percent. Meanwhile, Charlotte ranks second in the NBA at corralling defensive rebounds with a defensive rebounding percentage of 81.1 percent.
Charlotte heads into the game with records of 10-16 straight up (SU) and 11-14-1 against the spread (ATS). Vegas is exceedingly accurate when predicting totals of Hornets games, with an even split between overs and unders.
Meanwhile, Houston owns records of 21-4 SU and 14-11 ATS. Similarly to Charlotte, a little over half of Rockets games have finished under the total.
This is the second game of the season between these two teams. Harden recorded 27 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds in the first game, in which the Rockets defeated the Hornets 109-93, covering as 2.5-point favorites. The game finished with a total of 202 points, which was 12.5 points below the projected point total of 214.5 points. Houston’s effective field goal percentage was its biggest strength over Charlotte. The Rockets had a rate of 0.576 while the Hornets posted a mark of 0.438.
Charlotte Hornets at Houston Rockets Betting Pick
Predictions: SU Winner – Rockets, ATS Winner – Hornets, O/U – Under
Notes
Betting Notes:
Charlotte is 3-8-1 ATS on the road with 6 overs, 5 unders and 1 push.
Houston is 5-7 ATS at home with 6 overs and 6 unders.
Charlotte is 5-1 when they hold opponents below 100 points, while Houston is 9-1.
The Hornets are 10-7 when they score above 100 points, while the Rockets are 21-2.
Houston ranks third in steals per game (9.5) while Charlotte ranks 28th (6.2).
The Hornets rank first in points off turnovers allowed per game (14.3) while the Rockets rank 26th (18.8).
Houston ranks first in three pointers attempted per game (43.2) while Charlotte ranks 24th in three pointers allowed per game (31.0).
The Rockets rank second in rebounds allowed per game (40.3) while the Hornets rank 23rd (44.1).
Houston ranks 10th in assists per game (23.0) while Charlotte ranks 25th (20.4).
The Hornets rank fifth in fast break points allowed per game (9.3) while the Rockets rank 18th (11.6).
Charlotte averages 43.5 points in the paint per game, which ranks 14th in the NBA. Houston ranks 25th in points allowed in the paint per game (45.8).
The Rockets rank 13th in blocks per game (4.9) while the Hornets rank 17th in blocks allowed per game (4.9).
Charlotte ranks third in second chance points allowed per game (10.3) while Houston ranks seventh (11.0).
Bettings Trends:
In their last five games, Charlotte is 2-3 ATS with 3 unders and 2 overs.
Houston is 3-2 ATS with 3 overs and 2 unders over their last five games.
The Hornets’ average margin of defeat in their last five games has been 2.0, up from 1.6 for the season.
During their last five games, the Rockets have scored an average of 120.4 points per game (5.4 above their season average) and allowed an average of 106.6 points per game (2.6 above their season average).
