The Houston Rockets and the Utah Jazz played to just 189 points on October 24 in their only other meeting this season, but bettors and analysts are liking OVER bets when they hook up tonight at Vivint Smart Home Arena. The Jazz are scoring an average of 119.3 points per game in their last three outings, while the Rockets are just behind them at 116. The total for this game opened at 215.5 and the Jazz are 2-point favorites on the spread.
- The total has gone OVER in eight of the Rockets’ last nine games (avg. combined score: 234.33).
- The total has gone OVER in the Jazz’ last seven games at home (avg. combined score: 226.29).
- The Rockets are 3-8 SU and ATS in their last 11 games as road underdogs.
Teams Have Combined to go 14-4 O/U Recently
OVERs have been following these teams around like a lost puppy recently with plenty of points being scored. Houston had seen the total go OVER in eight consecutive games before finally hitting an UNDER bet against the Timberwolves on Monday. The average combined score in those games was 234.3, almost 20 points higher than the total for tonight.
Similarly, Utah has seen the total go OVER in six of its last nine games overall (average combined score 215.4) and seven consecutive games on home court (average combined score 226.29). Utah has the No. 24 scoring defense on home court at 112.44 points per game while the Rockets have the No. 17 scoring offense on the road at 108 points per game.
Harden For MVP?
Houston’s James Harden is the only player in the NBA scoring more than 30 points per game at 30.6. He’s also third in the league in assists (8.7 per game) and is tied for first in steals (2.25 per game). Additionally, the only player to spend more time on the court than Harden (36.5 minutes per game) is Anthony Davis (37.4 minutes per game).
Sophomore Donovan Mitchell leads the charge for Utah. He had his best night of the season against the Rockets on October 24, scoring 38 points in 39 minutes and shooting 56 percent from the floor. He went 4-for-9 from three-point land as well and will be looking for a repeat performance tonight.
My Bet for Tonight
If you couldn’t tell from the above prose, I’m taking OVER 216 points for my bet on this game. Not only am I making this bet, but a lot of public bettors have jumped on these trends as well. Our OddsShark consensus data shows 72 percent of totals action on the OVER at the 215.5 total. If you like this pick, get on it sooner than later as it will likely start rising if it hasn’t already.
