Rockets vs. Clippers Betting Line
Carrie Stroup here with your Rockets vs. Clippers betting line.
Sportsbook.ag Line: Los Angeles -3, Total: 213
The Clippers look to win their second straight game when they host the Rockets on Wednesday.
The Rockets went into Phoenix on Tuesday and won 127-118 as 2.5-point road underdogs. Houston has now won-and-covered in three of its past four games and is 7-3 SU in its past 10 contests. The team has also been playing some very high-scoring games, going Over in three straight and four of its past five. Meanwhile, the Clippers snapped a four-game SU and ATS losing streak with a 115-98 win over the Mavericks as 8.5-point road underdogs on Monday. The game marked the first time Los Angeles held an opponent to under 100 points in its past five games.
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The Clippers have been dominant against the Rockets in the recent history between these teams, going 9-1 SU and 7-3 ATS in their past 10 meetings. Los Angeles has won-and-covered in five straight against Houston, including a 102-85 victory as 4.5-point road underdogs on Nov. 28, 2014. The last time the Rockets beat the Clippers SU was in Houston on Mar. 30, 2013. They have not beaten the Clippers at Staples Center since Dec. 22, 2010. Nine of the past 10 games played between these teams in Los Angeles have gone Under the total.
The Rockets are 51-23 ATS after two straight games with 15 or more offensive rebounds since 1996. They are also 30-21 ATS in all games this season. Fortunately for Los Angeles, Houston is also a miserable 13-25 ATS in road games after having won four or five of its last six games over the past two seasons. PF Terrence Jones (Illness) is questionable for the Rockets and C Dwight Howard (Knee) will be out for the next month at least. PF Blake Griffin (Elbow) underwent surgery earlier in the week and is out indefinitely for the Clippers.
The Rockets are coming off of a tough road win over the Phoenix Suns and SG James Harden (27.7 PPG, 6.8 APG, 5.7 RPG) had his second consecutive game with 40+ points. The shooting guard made yet another strong case for why he deserves to be the NBA’s MVP this season, finishing with 40 points, 12 rebounds, nine assists and three steals in 43 minutes of action. His numbers are out of this world lately, averaging 34.2 PPG, 7.0 APG and 6.8 RPG over the past five games. Los Angeles is weak at defending the shooting guard position, so there’s little to no reason that Harden shouldn’t be able to dominate once again.
With C Dwight Howard (16.3 PPG, 11.0 RPG, 1.4 BPG) out, PF Josh Smith (12.3 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 3.7 APG, 1.4 BPG) has been getting some more burn. Smith had an excellent game against Phoenix, finishing with 20 points (8-for-15 FG, 2-for-4 3PT), six rebounds and three assists in 32 minutes. Smith will need to use his speed to his advantage, as he’ll likely be going up against a much slower player in PF Spencer Hawes (6.3 PPG, 3.8 RPG). Hawes is not a capable perimeter defender and Smith should really be able to make him uncomfortable with his ability to get to the rim and knock down the occasional outside jumper.
PF Donatas Motiejunas (11.6 PPG, 6.1 RPG) has had an excellent season, but he’s struggling to play center with Howard out. Needing to go up against bigger players is not something he is comfortable with, as evidenced by his five fouls in 17 minutes against the Suns. He continues to play solid offense and was able to put up 12 points in those limited minutes on Tuesday. He’ll need to find a way to keep C DeAndre Jordan (10.5 PPG, 13.7 RPG, 2.4 BPG) in line despite giving up a lot of size.
PG Patrick Beverley (10.8 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 3.3 APG, 1.1 SPG) had 15 points, six assists and six rebounds against Phoenix on Tuesday. He’ll now have to play his best basketball on the defensive end Wednesday, as he’ll be matched up with PG Chris Paul (17.8 PPG, 9.7 APG, 4.8 RPG, 1.9 SPG) in this game. Beverley is one of the best defenders in the league at his position, but stopping Chris Paul is a tough task for anybody.
SF Trevor Ariza (12.6 PPG, 5.4 RPG could be the x-factor for Houston in this game. Ariza is playing well recently, averaging 15.6 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 3.6 APG, and 2.4 SPG over his past five contests. He has struggled to hit outside shots this season (34% 3PT), but has been on fire lately (47% 3PT in past five games). The Rockets need him to keep it up offensively with Howard out.
The Clippers won a big game in Dallas on Monday and C DeAndre Jordan played one of the best games of his career in that one. Jordan finished with 22 points, 27 rebounds and three blocks in 39 minutes of action. He is going to need to keep putting up video-game rebounding numbers going forward, as Los Angeles doesn’t have many guys who can make up for the loss of PF Blake Griffin (22.5 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 5.1 APG) on the glass. Jordan had just seven points against the Rockets the last time he played them, but he did grab 13 rebounds and should be able to do even better with Houston not playing with Dwight Howard.
PG Chris Paul has taken a more aggressive approach as a scorer without Griffin in the lineup. Paul had 25 points (7-for-15 FG, 1-for-3 3PT, 10-for-10 FT), 13 assists, six rebounds and two steals in 40 minutes against the Mavericks. He’s going to have to continue to take the ball to the basket and look to score, as this team is now limited in its scoring options.
SG Jamal Crawford (16.0 PPG, 2.6 APG) is yet another player who has been more aggressive in Griffin’s absence. The shooting guard has scored 20+ points in each of the past three contests and has a remarkable ability to create shots for himself. The Clippers need him to attack James Harden, as it will, at the very least, tire him out on the defensive end.
SG J.J. Redick (14.4 PPG) returned for the Clippers on Monday after dealing with back spasms in recent weeks. Redick had 15 points (5-for-12 FG, 3-for-4 3PT), three assists and a steal in 31 minutes, providing the same consistency from the outside that he has all season (44% 3PT). Everybody on this team will need to do their parts in order for the Clippers to stay afloat without Griffin. The Western Conference is extremely cutthroat and the team can’t afford to lose many games or it is in danger of slipping out of the playoff picture.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
