The Houston Rockets have been nearly unbeatable at the Toyota Center in December over the past few seasons, as they prepare to take on the Atlanta Hawks Monday night. Let’s take a closer look at the NBA odds for this non-conference affair.
Four-game
win streak
Atlanta
has won four games in a row, including a 109-100 victory over the
Indiana Pacers as 2.5-point home favorites, but all of those games
came against Eastern Conference opponents. The Hawks have
averaged 28.0 assists per game during that stretch, while also
knocking down 34 combined three-pointers in the last three. The
team is 6-5 straight up and against the spread (ATS) when taking on
non-conference foes this year.
Bouncing
back
Houston
has dropped back-to-back games against two of the premier teams in
the NBA, including a 124-94 blowout loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder
as 4.5-point home underdogs Saturday, while going OVER the total for
the fifth time in six opportunities. The Rockets are certainly
capable of bouncing back, considering they’ve gone 11-6 at home
this season, including a 7-1 mark versus out-of-conference
opponents. The franchise is a disappointing 1-4 ATS following a
double-digit loss at home.
Enjoying
life on the road
Sports
bettors may find the Hawks as an attractive option when looking over
the NBA betting lines, as they’ve opened the 2012-13 regular
season with an 8-4 record on the road, which is the best such mark in
the Eastern Conference. Atlanta has covered the point spread in
12 of its last 16 road games when playing a team with a winning home
record.
December
dominance
It’s
going to be very hard not to back the Rockets as one of my NBA picks
against the spread on New Year’s Even, as they’ve produced a
remarkable 28-5 home record in December since 2008. Houston is
21-12-1 ATS during this calendar month over the last two-plus
campaigns, with the OVER going 18-5-1 in that situation.
Taking
care of the basketball
James
Harden and Jeremy Lin are combining to score 38 points per game in
their first season together in Houston, but the duo has been careless
with the basketball recently, with the squad turning the ball over 24
times in each of the last two games. Atlanta has proven to take
advantage of miscues—ranking fifth in the league in averaging 17.8
points per game off opponents turnovers.
Prediction
I’m
going to recommend that readers back the Hawks as one of their pro
basketball picks Monday, as the underdog is 6-1 ATS in the last seven
meetings in this series. Atlanta is also 20-12 ATS when
revenging a home loss versus an opponent—dropping a 109-102
decision in the first series meeting as five-point home favorites on
Nov. 2.
NBA
Pick: Atlanta Hawks +4 at 5Dimes