Will Low-Scoring Trends Continue For Rockets vs Clippers?

James Harden has had a historically hot start to the season, yet the Rockets have seen the UNDER hit in five of their last six games. The Clippers have seen six of their last seven games go UNDER. Do bettors have any play Wednesday other than betting on a low-scoring game?

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

Both teams come in with identical 7-3 records powered by superstars and have some depth issues in the backcourt at the moment. Because they’re evenly matched, it’s essentially a pick’em game, with the Rockets tabbed as 1-point favorites simply because they’re at home.

Los Angeles News & Notes

What a week for Los Angeles: Kawhi Leonard beat his old team, they have one of the best records in the NBA … and their other all-star, Paul George, is set to return.

The Clippers kicked off the week by topping the Toronto Raptors 98-88 on Monday. Leonard did not have his best game, shooting 2-for-11 from the field, but he still fell just one assist shy of a triple-double and cranked up the defense as Los Angeles held the Raptors to only 10 points in the fourth quarter.

The defense will be tested Wednesday as Houston boasts the league’s highest-scoring offense, while the Clippers will be short-handed. Starting guard Landry Shamet left Monday’s game with a high ankle sprain and is out indefinitely, while George is not expected to debut until Thursday against New Orleans — the second half of a back-to-back for the Clippers.

Houston News & Notes

Just when you thought you had seen the best James Harden had to offer, he goes ahead and kicks it up another notch.

Harden potted 39 points in Monday’s 122-116 win over the Pelicans. The performance improved Houston’s record to 7-3, but more notably it moved his scoring average to 37.3 points through his first 10 games, the highest average for a player through his first 10 games of a season in the last half-century — and topping the 36.9 average that was set by Michael Jordan in the ‘86-87 and ‘88-89 seasons.

The two-time reigning scoring champ, along with fellow superstar guard Russell Westbrook, will need to carry the team even more as the Rockets lost some backcourt depth with Eric Gordon set to miss the next six weeks following knee surgery.

If Harden wants to continue his historic pace, he’s going to have to earn it Wednesday with Kawhi Leonard likely hounding him for much of the game.

Betting Pick: UNDER 230.5 

The Rockets and the Clippers have both seen their games go UNDER a lot recently, so why would that change now? I’ll take the UNDER again here too.