Posted on
4/1/2008 6:12:04 PM
NBA Basketball Betting Trends – Houston Rockets at Sacramento Kings
By Eric Williams
The Houston Rockets, (49-24 SU, 41-30-2 ATS, 32-40-1 O/U), have struggled since the Boston Celtics snapped their historic 22-game winning streak, going an uninspiring 3-4 in seven contests including that loss to Boston, a resounding 94-74 home defeat to the NBA’s best team.
The Rockets come into tonight’s matchup against the Sacramento Kings, (33-40 SU, 37-35-1 ATS, 39-30-4 O/U) coming off another convincing losss, this one, a 109-88 defeat to the Streaking San Antonio Spurs on Sunday that dropped them 1/2 games behind the New Orleans Hornets and Spurs for the Western Conference lead.
The Rockets are allowing over 100 points per game over their past seven after limiting teams to just 88.3 points per game during their franchise-best winning streak.
"The frustrating part about tonight was our defense," rookie power forward Luis Scola said. "It doesn't matter how bad you play on offense, but if you play good defense, things become easier."
The Kings are coming off a 120-107 win at Seattle on Sunday, the team’s second victory in their last three games.
"This was a case of our guys coming out in the second half and deciding that they wanted to guard somebody," Kings head coach Reggie Theus said. "It was all about defense."
Outspoken forward Ron Artest said the Kings, who are 5-5 in their last ten games overall, have failed this season by not reaching the postseason.
"It's a failure," Artest said. "We have one of the best defensive players to ever play the game in myself. We have Brad (Miller) and Kevin, up and coming first and second team All-NBA guys, and we have some good point guards, so it's a failure that we didn't make the playoffs."
Sacramento has covered the spread in five of their last ten games while the Rockets are a dismal 3-6-1 against the spread over the same span.
Here’s a look at tonight’s key trends followed by my NBA Betting Picks.
The Rockets are 4-0 ATS in their last four games as a road favorite.
The Rockets are 4-1 ATS in their last five games as a road favorite of 0.5-4.5.
The Kings are 4-0 ATS in their last four games as a home underdog of 0.5-4.5.
The Kings are 7-0 ATS in their last seven games as an underdog of 0.5-4.5.
The Under is 4-0 in Rockets last four games as a road favorite.
The Over is 6-1 in Kings last seven home games vs. a team with a winning road record.
The Over is 7-1 in the last eight meetings in Sacramento.
The Over is 5-1 in the last six meetings.
Analysis: While the Rockets are playing on the road in this contest and the Kings have beaten them once at home already this season, I think Houston understands how badly they need to win this contest and will pick up the road victory over Sacramento tonight while barely covering the spread in the process.
NBA Free Picks: Rockets -3½ Points/Under 202 Total Points
10:05 PM EST NBA Odds
Houston Rockets -3½ -110
Sacramento Kings +3½ -110
Over 202 -110
Under 202 -110
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