Rockets at Pelicans: Betting odds, point spread for Saturday night
The Houston Rockets will look to extend their season-long winning streak to five games when they visit Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson, and the Southwest Division rival New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night.
The Rockets are coming off a thrilling 104-101 victory on Thursday versus Portland, with Christian Wood, Victor Oladipo, and John Wall all scoring 20 or more points in their first game together as teammates. Head coach Stephen Silas seemed to enjoy the “WOW factor” nickname for that trio of veterans, referring to their last-name initials.
In addition to the trio’s scoring prowess, the Rockets are also becoming known for a rapidly improving defense. Since trading James Harden in the deal that brought in Oladipo, Houston has ranked No. 1 in the NBA in net defensive rating, and they’re 5-3 over that span. With Harden, they ranked No. 22 on defense and were 3-6 over nine games.
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The lines, courtesy of BetMGM
Point spread: Rockets -1.5 (-110), Pelicans +1.5 (-110)
Moneyline: Rockets -115/Pelicans -105
Over-under: 222.5 (-110 O, -110 U)
Player O/U Scoring Props: Christian Wood 21.5 (-110 O, -115 U), Victor Oladipo 21.5 (-110 O, -115 U), John Wall 17.5 (-125 O, +100 U); Brandon Ingram 23.5 (-110 O, -115 U), Zion Williamson 22.5 (-120 O, -105 U), Eric Bledsoe 14.5 (-110 O, -115 U)
Place your legal, online sports bets in CO, IN, MI, NV, NJ, PA, TN, and WV at BetMGM.
From NBA.com’s game notes, projected starters for New Orleans (7-10) are Lonzo Ball, Eric Bledsoe, Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson, and Steven Adams. Meanwhile, Houston (8-9) is listing John Wall, Victor Oladipo, Jae’Sean Tate, PJ Tucker, and Christian Wood.
Advice and prediction
The Pelicans will be on the second night of a back-to-back sequence of games after a 131-126 victory (box score) over Milwaukee on Friday night. Thus, it’s possible that head coach Stan Van Gundy could make a late switch to that projected lineup, should New Orleans feel the need to rest any of its regulars for maintenance purposes.
Thanks to Houston’s improving defense, the under total has cashed out in four of the last five games for the Rockets. In several cases, the combined score hasn’t even come close to the projected total. With the Pelicans on short rest, the best bet could be for that trend to continue.
Prediction: 111-106, Rockets
Get more betting analysis and predictions at Sportsbook Wire.
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