Sport: NBAPick Selection: Houston Rockets -8.5 -110
Sacramento Kings at Houston Rockets 8:30 PM ET
Houston Rockets -8.5 -110
***Western Conference Game of the Week*** Houston is playing some of the best basketball in the NBA right now as it has won seven straight games to pull to 11 games over .500. What has it done? Not a whole lot considering if the season ended today, the Rockets would not even make the playoffs. They are currently in ninth place in the Western Conference, trailing Golden St. by a tiebreaker, but it is a little deceiving. They are only five games out of the top spot showing just how good the Western Conference really is.
Sacramento has dropped three of four after getting scorched at Memphis last night by 13 points and the Kings were actually favored in that game. They are now 7-17 on the road after losing four of five away from home and by an average of 14 ppg. The recent skid came on the heels of a winning streak that reached four games and seven of nine but the defense continues to play horrible while the offense can?t keep up. Playing a tough defense of the Rockets will keep it down even further.
The Rockets are 4th in the NBA in points allowed at 92.8 ppg and their 43.7 percent shooting allowed is 2nd in the league and tops in the Western Conference. Houston has done this by playing a schedule that is ranked 5th toughest in the league and it has been able to take care of the teams that have been out of playoff contention. Houston is 16-5 against teams outside the top 16 while the Kings are just 9-19 against teams ranked within the top 16.
The Rockets are flying high with a seven-game winning streak, victories in 11 of 12 games and the NBA's second-best record of 2008. This is their last game before the All-Star break and they want to head in keeping the run going. Prior to this homestand, head coach Rick Adelman said his team needed to run the table on its home floor and it has done just that. The last three wins have been by 15, 19 and 12 points. The players have increased confidence for the run and especially the improvement closing out games.
The recent run of the Rockets sets them up in a fantastic situation. Play on home favorites that have won between 60 and 75 percent of their games after five or more consecutive wins, playing a team that has won between 40 and 49 percent of its games. This situation is 46-14 ATS (76.7 percent) since 1996 with the average point differential being +13.2 ppg. Don?t expect Houston to take the Kings lightly as not only does it want to close the first half strong but it also remembers the loss in Sacramento back in December. Play Houston Rockets 2.5 Units
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