Sport: NBAPick Selection: Houston Rockets +5 -110
Houston Rockets at Dallas Mavericks 8:30 PM ET
Houston Rockets +5 -110
Houston begins a tough two-game stretch tonight as it heads to Dallas before facing San Antonio tomorrow. There is obviously no need for a lookahead here as the Rockets will be looking to take care of the business at hand. The Rockets are 3-0 for the first time since 1996-97 and are playing with a lot of confidence under new head coach Rick Adelman. The Rockets believe they are going to improve greatly as the season wears on as the new system has opened up the floor for Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming.
Ming is a big factor here as proven by least year?s series meetings. The Rockets blew out the Mavericks in the second game of last season, with Ming scoring 36 points. He missed the final three meetings of the season and as expected, Houston dropped all three of those. The edge goes to Houston as the Mavericks have only one true center in DeSagana Diop, so Ming can have another big night against Dallas. The Mavericks have been outrebounded in two of three games this season.
Dallas is 2-1 to start the year but this is easily its biggest challenge yet. So far, the Mavericks have beaten a Cleveland team that was unready for the season, lost at Atlanta to a youthful, exuberant Hawks team and blasted short-handed Sacramento, a team that's not going to be very good even when it?s healthy. It isn?t exactly the start they were looking for with three winnable games but the schedule has not helped as it still has not shown how they are at this point.
Houston has lost 15 of the last 20 meetings to the Mavericks but this is a new team with newfound momentum and a win here is not out of the question as we can expect a tight one. Play against favorites after two or more consecutive overs and averaging 102 or more ppg going up against a team that is allowing 92 or fewer ppg. This situation is 42-17 ATS (71.2 percent) since 1996. Play Houston Rockets 2 Units
|
Handicappers
