Rockets vs. Pistons Prediction
Can the Houston Rockets go on the road and take care of business against the struggling Detroit Pistons tonight at 7:30PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, the Rockets are favored on the road today, as they are getting odds of -1.5 points against the Pistons. The over/under total for the contest is listed at 205 points. The home team has won four of the last five in this series while the Pistons are 4-1 against the spread in the last five meetings.
Houston has won back-to-back games to improve to 8-5 on the season. They are 4-4 on the road this year and 9-4 against the spread. The Rockets have also covered in four straight and six of their last seven games. They are currently putting up 109.1 points per game, which ranks third in the league right now. James Harden has been pretty unstoppable thus far in the season, averaging 28.7 points, 7.8 rebounds and 12.5 assists per game. Houston could be without Trevor Ariza tonight. He is listed as questionable with an ankle injury. Ariza is averaging 12 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.23 steals per game this season.
The Pistons are struggling right now, as they have lost three straight to drop to 6-8 on the season. The most recent loss was 94-92 at home to Boston, Detroit’s first home loss of the season. They are now 5-1 at The Palace this year and they come into this game at 6-8 against the spread. While the Pistons have a respectable defense that holds opponents to just 97.2 points per game, they rank 25th in offense by scoring just 96.9 points per contest. The lack of Reggie Jackson in the lineup is certainly hurting their offense.
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Harden should be able to have a big game again, as the Pistons don’t have a man the contain him. Andre Drummond can protect the paint, but the Rockets clearly have the edge in the backcourt. Detroit just doesn’t have the reliable scoring to keep pace with Houston, even at home.
NBA DAILY PREDICTION: HOUSTON ROCKETS -1.5