The Houston Rockets can climb up as high as third in the Western Conference with a win tonight over the Sacramento Kings, a team they’ve beaten three times this season. The Rockets are a league-best 16-4 SU in 20 games since the all-star break while winning seven of their 10 road games. The Kings, on the other hand, have been the best spread bet at home this season and have covered in 14 of 23 home games as an underdog this season.
The Rockets opened as 5-point favorites with a total of 226.5.
STANDOUT STATS
- The Rockets are a league-best 16-4 SU since the all-star break and 10-7-3 ATS. They lead the league in three-point attempts per game (44.9) and convert 36 percent of them (rated 11th). They also own a +7.8 point differential from those games with a 7-3 SU record in 10 road games since the break.
- The Rockets have beaten the Kings three times this season with an average win margin of 19 points per game. In only one of those games did the Kings shoot better than 45 percent from the floor and when they hosted the Rockets back in February, they got dropped by 26 points while shooting 33 percent from behind the arc.
- In eight home games since the all-star break, the Kings are 4-4 SU and ATS with a -5.9 point differential. But they’re averaging 118.9 points per game while ranking seventh in three-point efficiency (38.2 percent).
- The Kings have been a surprisingly profitable spread bet at home lately at 13-6-1 in their last 20 games at the Golden 1 Center. Their overall record is 24-12-1 ATS in home games this season and when pegged as a home underdog this season, they’re 14-7-2 ATS in 23 games.
- The UNDER has hit in 13 of the Rockets’ last 15 games (avg. combined score: 212.7) and in eight of the Kings’ last 11 games at home.
My Best Bet for Rockets vs Kings
Rockets -5
I know the Kings are that team that everyone loves to bet on at home but I think this is a bad matchup for them. The Kings haven’t been able to stop the Rockets’ attack in any game this season and have lost all three games vs Houston by double digits. James Harden is averaging a cool 40 points per game against the Kings this season while shooting over 40 percent from behind the arc on an average of 14 attempts.
I just can’t see the Kings getting this win or keeping it within five points at this stage of the season because they were just officially eliminated from playoff contention and have difficulty stopping teams from hitting from behind the arc. This one may come down to the final minutes but I like the Rockets to pull it out.
