posted March 19, 2008 at 18:48 in NBA Free Picks

Houston Rockets (+ 5) vs. New Orleans Hornets (- 5)

The Rockets fell back to earth last night by losing to the Boston Celtics. Not only did they lose straight-up, ending the 22 game win streak, but they also lost against the BetUS spread. The Rockets were favored in last night’s game. Not so in tonight’s game. The Rockets are 5 point dogs. Against the spread, because of that incredible straight-up streak, the Rockets have been extra good lately. They’ve gone 8 and 2 in their last 10 games as well as 19 and 12 overall on the road this year.

New Orleans has the same record as the Rockets. Winning this game is very important. The team that does becomes the top seed, right now, in the Western Conference. That’s big. Against the spread, the Hornets have also been pretty good. They’ve gone 7 and 3 against the BetUS spread in their last 10 games. At home the Hornets have a 22 and 13 record against the spread. Here are more trends.

The Houston Rockets are 14 and 3 against the spread in their last 17 games on the road.

The New Orleans Hornets are 4 and 1 against the spread in their last 5 games versus a team from the Western Conference division.

The Houston Rockets are 8 and 3 against the spread in the last 11 meetings between these two teams in New Orleans.

The Over is 4 and 1 in the last 5 games New Orleans has played after an against the spread win.

The BetUS over/under in this game is 185.5. That means that each team needs to put up around 93 points to hit the over. The last time these two teams met, the Rockets lost 106 to 96. So, the over does look good in this situation.

Is there a chance for us to put some money on the BetUS line along with our over wager? Maybe. The Rockets could easily bounce back from last night’s loss to the ultra-tough Boston Celtics. If they do, then they have a chance of winning this game straight-up.

That means that the money-line might be a viable play tonight. But 5 points is enough for me not to think too hard about it. I’m going to take the Rockets and the points.

The BetUS NBA Betting line is Houston Rockets + 5 against the spread on the road versus the New Orleans Hornets.

I like the Rockets to beat the BetUS spread. I also like the over in this game.

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