Rockets vs. Hawks Betting Line
Carrie Stroup here with your Rockets vs. Hawks betting line courtesy of Sportsbook.ag.
HOUSTON ROCKETS (41-18) at ATLANTA HAWKS (47-12)
Sportsbook.ag Line: Atlanta -8.5, Total: 199.5
Two of the elite teams in the NBA, the Houston Rockets and Atlanta Hawks, meet on Tuesday night in what should be a tremendous match-up.
Houston has been dealing with injuries up and down its rotation all season long but has seen SG James Harden consistently play MVP-caliber basketball as the team comes into this contest with five consecutive SU wins (4-1 ATS). They’ve won by an average of 8.8 PPG over the current winning streak and defeated three eventual playoff teams in the process. The biggest victory came on Sunday against the Cavs, when they took the game into overtime and grabbed a 105-103 win as one-point underdogs. The offense hit 34-of-74 shots (46% FG) in the win as Cleveland made a putrid 11-of-21 free-throw attempts. However, Harden is suspended for this game after a blatant kick on LeBron James in that victory.
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Atlanta has been one of the most dominant teams all year long and continues to put together tremendous all-around efforts with victories in each of the last four outings. They were just 2-2 ATS in that time, and after grabbing double-digit wins against both Milwaukee and Dallas, they had close calls against some less talented clubs in Orlando and Miami. They really cut it close on Saturday against the Heat when they were giving 2.5 points and ended with a 93-91 win. It was a late push by Miami that made it close, as they put up 38 points in the final quarter, but the Hawks were able to keep the lead behind 23 forced turnovers.
Houston has managed to play well on the road with a record of 17-10 SU (13-14 ATS) in away games as they face an Atlanta group which is a solid 27-4 SU (19-12 ATS) at home. It was all the Hawks in the first matchup between these teams this year when they took down the Rockets by a score of 104-97 behind 51.4% shooting as 5-point underdogs on the road in late December. It was their first win in Houston since 2010, but they typically do well when playing at home and are 11-5 SU (7-7-2 ATS) against this opponent in front of their fans since 1996.
Trends show us that Atlanta is 5-1 ATS this year after playing five consecutive games as the favorite while Houston is 16-3 ATS (84%) when coming off a road win on the season. The injuries have been frequent for the Rockets this year as they continue to play without C Dwight Howard (Knee) and have SF Kostas Papanikolaou (Ankle) day-to-day. On the other side, the Hawks had PG Jeff Teague (Hamstring), C Al Horford (Personal), SF DeMare Carroll (Achilles) and C Pero Antic (Knee) sat out on Saturday but they are all expected to play in this one.
The Houston offense continues to be impressive with 103.3 PPG (6th in league) on the season as it makes just 43.8% of its shots (9th-worst in league). The defense has also performed well in the high-powered Western Conference and has given up 99.7 PPG on 44% shooting (9th in league). SG James Harden (27.1 PPG, 6.9 APG, 5.8 RPG, 1.9 SPG) is coming off yet another tremendous effort (33 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks) in the win over Cleveland on Saturday but also had an altercation with LeBron James that will cause him to miss this contest due to suspension. He was just 5-of-16 against the Hawks in the first meeting this year but ended with a solid line (18 points, 14 assists, 6 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal) in the loss.
SF Trevor Ariza (12.6 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 1.9 SPG) has made a meager 38% of his field goal attempts this year and had just four points against the Cavs while contributing in other ways (7 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 blocks). He took nine three-point shots in the last matchup with Atlanta, making just three on his way to a 13-point game in which he added two steals and a block.
PF Terrence Jones (11.7 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 1.9 BPG) has been huge of late with averages of 17.0 PPG (56% FG), 10.2 RPG and 2.2 BPG over his last five outings. He didn’t face this opponent in the game back in December but has averaged 10.0 PPG (45% FG) and 7.0 RPG in two career starts against them.
Atlanta has picked up its offensive game this year and are scoring the second most points in the East (102.6 PPG, 7th in league) behind 46.6% shooting (3rd in league). On the opposite end of the court, the defense has been extremely impressive as well and are giving up a mere 96.4 PPG (2nd in league) as opponents make 43.4% of their shots (4th in league).
PG Jeff Teague (16.7 PPG, 7.3 APG, 1.7 SPG) has not been playing well in recent games with 12.3 PPG on a mere 39% shooting over his past four performances. He also missed the past contest against this squad and was horrible when facing them last year with 5.5 PPG (12% FG), 5.0 APG and 1.5 SPG.
PF Paul Millsap (17.0 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 1.7 SPG) has put up 20+ points in three of his past four games and has hit 6-of-11 threes over the last two contests. He was solid all-around (14 points, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 steals) when his club defeated the Rockets already this season.
C Al Horford (15.4 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 1.3 BPG) averaged a double-double (14.7 PPG, 10.9 RPG) over 11 February games and should be rearing to go after getting a day of rest on Saturday. He was solid in the game against Houston back in December with 14 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, three blocks and a steal.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
