Offense meets defense when the Houston Rockets (62-14) head to San Antonio to take on the Spurs (44-32). The game starts at 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 1, 2018, and will air on ABC.
Houston Rockets at San Antonio Spurs Betting Prediction
In the Rockets’ last game, they topped the Phoenix Suns, 104-103. Getting to the charity stripe was one of Houston’s largest advantages. They made 29 trips to the line, while Phoenix went just 13 times. Houston rallied around James Harden, who was the game’s leading scorer with 28 points on 8-for-21 shooting.
The Spurs defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder in their last contest, 103-99. One of San Antonio’s biggest advantages was getting to the free throw line. They made 30 trips to the line, while Oklahoma City went 21 times. LaMarcus Aldridge was San Antonio’s leading scorer with 25 points on 9-for-19 shooting.
San Antonio might have a tough time finding the bottom of the net as they square off against one of the league’s best defenses. Houston ranks sixth in defensive efficiency, while the Spurs rank 18th in offensive efficiency. Also, the Rockets are among the league’s best at getting to the line, ranking first in free throw attempt (FTA) rate (0.235). The Spurs, however, rank first at keeping opponents off the charity stripe with an opponents’ FTA rate of 0.167.
Houston heads into the game with records of 62-14 straight up (SU) and 40-34-2 against the spread (ATS). Vegas has a tendency to place the total high when the Rockets are involved, as 42 of their 76 games have gone under the total.
Meanwhile, San Antonio is 44-32 SU and 39-33-4 ATS. Coinciding with Houston, a little over half of Spurs games have finished under the total.
The Rockets have won all three contests against the Spurs this season, including a 109-93 victory in their last matchup. Houston covered as an 11-point favorite and the game finished with a total of 202 points, which was 10 points below the projected point total of 212 points. The Rockets had a much better offensive rebounding percentage (23.7 vs. 14.6) and had a better effective field goal percentage (0.569 vs. 0.475). Harden was the game’s leading scorer with 28 points.
Houston Rockets at San Antonio Spurs Betting Pick
Prediction: SU Winner – Spurs, ATS Winner – Spurs, O/U – Under
Notes
Betting Notes:
Houston is 24-13-1 ATS on the road with 22 unders, 15 overs and 1 push.
At home, San Antonio is 24-13-1 ATS with 19 overs and 19 unders.
In games where they hold opponents under 100 points, San Antonio is 30-10 and Houston is 30-2.
When reaching the century mark, the Spurs are 34-12 and the Rockets are 60-11.
Houston ranks first in three pointers attempted per game (42.4) while San Antonio ranks 27th (24.2).
The Spurs rank 11th in points allowed in the paint per game (43.7) while the Rockets rank 27th (48.3).
Houston ranks fifth in steals per game (8.6) while San Antonio ranks 19th (7.5).
The Spurs rank fourth in blocks per game (5.6) while the Rockets rank 15th (4.8).
Houston ranks fifth in points off turnovers per game (17.6) while San Antonio ranks 15th (16.3).
The Rockets rank fourth in rebounds allowed per game (41.8) while the Spurs rank 10th (42.4).
San Antonio ranks 10th in second chance points per game (13.1) while Houston ranks 12th in second chance points allowed per game (11.9).
The Rockets average 11.5 fast break points per game, which ranks 15th in the NBA. The Spurs rank 17th in fast break points allowed per game (12.2).
Bettings Trends:
In their last five games, Houston is 3-2 ATS with 4 unders and 1 over.
San Antonio is 3-2 ATS with 3 overs and 2 unders over their last five games.
The Rockets’ average margin of victory in their last five games has been 15.8, up from 9.3 for the season.
During their last five games, the Spurs have scored an average of 106.8 points per game (4.3 above their season average) and allowed an average of 106.2 points per game (6.8 above their season average).
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