The Houston Rockets will host a showdown against the Los Angeles Clippers at the Toyota Center. Action begins at 8:00 pm ET on Saturday, Dec. 19 and can be seen on PRI and RSW.
The Rockets enter this game hoping for similar success after dismantling the Lakers 107-87 on Thursday. Clint Capela was a key piece, recording his sixth double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds. The Clippers, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after their 115-107 loss against the Spurs on Friday. Los Angeles still lost despite the best efforts of Chris Paul, who recorded his ninth double-double of the season with 27 points and 10 assists.
The Clippers are a slim one-point favorite over Houston. According to the oddsmakers, the Over/Under (O/U) is currently 212 points. The Rockets come into this game 13-14 Straight Up (SU) and 10-17 Against The Spread (ATS). They are 9-8 SU and 8-9 ATS against the Western Conference. The Rockets have no trouble scoring as they rank fifth in the league in offense with 104.2 points per game. The Rockets are one of the best in the NBA in terms of free throws made, making an impressive 20.0 per game. Houston is one of the league’s top scoring teams off turnovers with an average of 19.4 points per game.
Over on the other bench, the Clippers have a record of 9-16-2 ATS and 16-11 SU. Against the Western Conference, Los Angeles is 10-8 SU and 6-11-1 ATS. Offensively, they average 104.1 points per game on the road, which is fifth in the league. The Clippers are the better of the two teams when it comes to assist-to-turnover ratio, ranking fifth in the NBA at 1.76.
Houston beat Los Angeles in their most recent meeting this season, bumping its SU record to 7-3 over the Clippers in their last 10 meetings. The Rockets also lead the matchup ATS with a record of 6-4.
Predictions: SU Winner – Hou, ATS Winner – Hou, O/U – Over
Notes
Houston is 6-3 SU in its last 9 games.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Houston’s last 7 games at home.
Houston is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home.
Houston is 3-8 ATS in its last 11 games at home.
Houston is 4-1 SU in their last 5 games when playing LA Clippers.
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Houston’s last 8 games when playing LA Clippers.
Houston is 4-1 SU in their last 5 games when playing at home against LA Clippers.
LA Clippers are 1-4 SU in their last 5 games when playing on the road against Houston.
Los Angeles ranks ninth in points per game with 102.7, while Houston ranks 27th in points allowed with an average of 106.3 given up.
Los Angeles averages 104.1 points per road game, placing the team fifth-best in the NBA. Houston, on the other hand, allows 107.1 points per home game (ranked 29th).
In games where they allow fewer than 100 points, the Houston Rockets are a winning 3-1. In games where they fail to hit triple digits, the Los Angeles Clippers have a subpar record of 1-5.
When the Houston Rockets allow at least 100 points they are 10-13, while the Los Angeles Clippers are 15-6 when they register triple digits.
The Clippers have a defensive rating of 102.4 (ranked 15th). The Rockets rank 12th for their offensive rating of 102.8.
Houston averages 101.4 possessions per game, scoring 1.028 points on each possession. While Los Angeles averages fewer possessions per game with 98.1, the team scores more points per possession with 1.048.
The Los Angeles Clippers have one of the best effective field goal percentages this season, ranking seventh in the league with an EFF% of 50.6%. When their opponents record a similar or higher EFF%, the Houston Rockets have a poor 5-10 record.
Houston makes an average of 21.5 assists per game (ranked 15th). Los Angeles ranks higher in assists with 22.9 (ranked seventh).
The Houston Rockets average 5.4 blocks per game for a rank of 11th. The Los Angeles Clippers rank lower (12th), earning 5.4 blocks each game.
The Houston Rockets rank third in offensive rebounding, while the Los Angeles Clippers rank 20th in defensive rebounding.
Houston ranks first in steals per game with 10.8. When Los Angeles gives up 10 or more steals, the team has an even 2-2 record.
