The play of the Houston Rockets of late is reminding hoops bettors just how good they are and they’ll look to continue their climb up the standings vs the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers. The Rockets just completed a successful road trip where they took down three championship contenders in the Warriors, Celtics and Raptors. The Sixers, on the other hand, are trying to tread water while Joel Embiid recovers from injury and are 5-6 SU and 4-7 ATS in 11 games with the big man out of the lineup.
The Rockets opened as 7-point favorites with a total of 231.5.
STANDOUT STATS
- The Sixers are 5-6 SU and 4-7 ATS in 11 games with Joel Embiid out of the lineup. Seven of those games were on the road and the Sixers are 2-5 ATS in those games.
- In 11 games without Embiid, the Sixers average 111 points per game while giving up 116.1 points (-5.1 point differential).
- The Rockets look like a different team with Clint Capela back in the lineup as they have gone 6-1 SU and 4-2-1 ATS in their last seven games since his return while holding teams to 109.1 points per game, three points below their season average (112.5).
- During the Rockets’ six-game win streak, they’re averaging 44.1 three-point attempts (first in the NBA) while hitting 37.5 percent of them (ranked ninth).
- In 19 Sixers games when the total closes at 230 or higher this season, the UNDER has hit in 14 of them with an average combined score of 227.8. When the total in a Rockets game is set at 230 or higher, the UNDER has hit in six of nine games this season.
- The total has gone UNDER in six of the 76ers’ last seven games on the road (avg. combined score: 221.57).
My Best Bet for Sixers vs Rockets
UNDER 231.5
I don’t feel great about either side of the spread because Houston is 1-7 ATS in its last eight home games as a favorite and the stats show that the Sixers don’t perform as well with Embiid out, so I had to back away from the spread and look at the total.
I’m not taking the UNDER solely because of the trends above but they do make it easier when you crunch the numbers. Houston’s pace has slowed down significantly with Clint Capela back in the fold and Philly averages about six points less per game on offense when its big man sits out. I think I’ll likely have to sweat this one out but will lean to the UNDER as I don’t feel great about either team’s spread chances.
