Rockets vs. Pacers Betting Line
Carrie Stroup here with your Rockets vs. Pacers betting line along with the line on tonight’s Celtics vs. Nets game.
HOUSTON ROCKETS (46-23) at INDIANA PACERS (30-39)
Sportsbook.ag Line: Houston -1.0, Total: 202
The Indiana Pacers attempt to snap a nasty five-game losing streak when they host the Houston Rockets on Monday night.
The Rockets continue to play some solid basketball and have won five of their past eight games both SU and ATS; earning four of the victories by double-digits. The offense has been the usual driving force when the club wins as it puts up an impressive 108.4 PPG in the five most recent wins. Houston couldn’t keep up with the Suns on Saturday though, losing by a score of 117-102 as a 7.5-point favorite at home. Phoenix made 46-of-92 shots (50%) in the manhandling of Houston as the Rockets turned the ball over 18 times.
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Indiana has not had the season it would have liked and is playing very poor coming into this one with losses in each of the past five games (1-4 ATS) as it scores a meager 95.2 PPG. The defense was also horrible during that stretch, allowing opponents to net more than 110 points twice as it gave up 106.2 PPG. The Pacers finally did something on offense on Saturday, putting up 111 points, but let the Nets drop 123 points on them while giving 8.5 points at home. They made a solid 45-of-90 shots (50% FG) in the loss but let Brooklyn get an amazing 46-of-75 (61% FG) attempts to drop.
Houston hasn’t been horrible on the road with a 19-13 SU record (16-16 ATS) in away games as it faces an Indiana group that is 18-17 SU (17-17-1 ATS) at home. The home teams have dominated the recent matchups with these two groups, winning each of the past three contests by an average of 23.7 PPG as the Rockets have come away victorious in the past two and earlier this season they were able to grab a 110-98 win against the Pacers; making 51.4% of their shots in the process.
Some trends to keep an eye on include that Houston is 10-1 ATS (91%) when coming off an upset loss this year while Indiana is 5-1 ATS after a game where it allowed a shooting percentage of 55% or higher in the past three seasons. On the injury front, the Rockets will continue to be very shallow with their big men as both C Dwight Howard (Knee) and PF Terrence Jones (Ribs) are out while SF Kostas Papanikolaou (Ankle) is questionable. The Pacers still obviously have SF Paul George (Leg) out while SG Rodney Stuckey (Calf) is questionable.
The Houston offense has been great for a few years now and it is scoring 103.3 PPG (8th in league) behind 43.9% shooting (9th-worst in league). On the defensive side of things the Rockets are allowing opponents to put up 100.2 PPG on 44.1% shooting (10th in league).
SG James Harden (26.9 PPG, 7.0 APG, 5.8 RPG, 1.9 SPG) has made a meager 35% of his shots in the past five games and is coming off a rough showing (16 points, 5 assists, 2 steals) in the loss to Phoenix. He didn’t disappoint when he last met with Indiana though, scoring 45 points to go with seven assists and four steals.
F Trevor Ariza (12.6 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 1.9 SPG) has had a horrible year shooting, making a mere 39% over the year, but has picked it up of late while hitting 48% of his attempts in the past five outings with 14.4 PPG. He was a non-factor when his team beat the Pacers earlier in the year as he had nine points with three steals.
SG Corey Brewer (11.7 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 1.6 SPG) has three double-digit scoring performances in the past five games and has grabbed 7.4 RPG in that time. He had 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting while adding little else against Indiana back in January.
The Pacers do little to instill fear in their opponents on the offensive end, netting 96.6 PPG (7th-worst in league) on 43.8% shooting (8th-worst in league). They don’t allow too much on defense, though, giving up a mere 96.8 PPG (3rd-best in league) with 43.5% of opponents attempts going in (4th in league).
PG George Hill (15.1 PPG, 4.6 APG) has been hot recently with 21.0 PPG over his past five performances as he’s made 56.9% of his shots. He wasn’t on the court in the first meeting with Houston and averaged just 8.0 PPG (54% FG) with 4.0 APG against them in two games last year.
PF David West (11.9 PPG, 7.0 RPG) has been horrible in the past five contests with 7.8 PPG and 5.0 RPG as he also did little (8 points, 6 rebounds) in the loss to the Rockets. C Roy Hibbert (10.8 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 1.7 BPG) has had a rough season but has done well (16.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 1.3 BPG) in his past four games. He played just 19 minutes against Houston this year with 12 points and four boards.
BOSTON CELTICS (30-39) at BROOKLYN NETS (29-39)
Sportsbook.ag Line: Brooklyn -4, Total: 203.0
The Celtics and Nets continue to fight for a spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs when the two teams face-off in Brooklyn Monday.
The Celtics faced the Pistons on Sunday and lost 105-97 as 6-point home favorites. Boston has now lost three straight games SU and the team has been miserable defensively, allowing 109.3 PPG in those contests. The Celtics will need to slow their opponents down or they will have little to no chance of being a part of the postseason.
The Nets, however, have gotten hot lately. They won 123-111 as 8.5-point road underdogs in Indiana on Saturday and have now won four of their past five games SU. They are 3-1-1 ATS in those games and their past four have gone Over the total.
These division foes have met three times this season and Boston is 2-1 both SU and ATS in those games. They last met in Brooklyn on Jan. 7 and the Celtics won 89-81 as 5-point underdogs in that game. Prior to that game, the Nets had won-and-covered in two straight games against the Celtics at Barclays Center.
Boston is 11-1 ATS in road games after failing to cover in two of their past three games this season. Brooklyn, meanwhile, is 36-23 ATS revenging a same season loss versus an opponent over the past two seasons. PG Marcus Smart (Suspension Served) is probable for the Celtics, who are already without PG Isaiah Thomas (Back) and PF Jared Sullinger (Foot) either indefinitely or for the season. Brooklyn is not currently dealing with any serious injuries.
The Celtics have lost three straight games and will really be desperate for a victory in Brooklyn Monday. SG Evan Turner (9.2 PPG, 5.0 APG, 4.9 RPG, 1.0 SPG) has been thrown into a much bigger role over the past two games, playing 36.0 MPG and being the team’s primary scoring option. Turner has responded with 20.0 PPG, 6.0 APG, 3.5 RPG and 1.5 SPG in those contests. He must find a way to be as productive against a Brooklyn team he has struggled against this season. Turner is averaging just 6.3 PPG in three games against the Nets and will need to be more effective as a scorer Monday.
One player who has stepped up in increased minutes is PF Jonas Jerebko (5.7 PG, 3.5 RPG). Over the past two games, Jerebko is averaging 8.5 PPG, 10.5 RPG and 1.0 SPG. He should be able to be a major part of this rotation as long as he continues to be active on the glass.
PG Marcus Smart (7.9 PPG, 3.4 APG, 3.4 RPG, 1.3 SPG) was averaging 13.5 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 3.0 APG and 1.5 SPG in 29.3 MPG in the four games before serving a one-game suspension for Boston. Smart is a very tough defender and also knows how to get his shots off. He’ll need to hold his own against Deron Williams on Monday.
SG Avery Bradley (14.0 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 1.1 SPG) could also spend some time guarding Williams in this game. Bradley is one of the better on-ball defenders in the league and could make things very tough on whichever Nets guard he covers in this one. He’s also playing very well offensively recently, averaging 15.0 PPG on 44% shooting (37% 3PT) over the past five games.
SF Jae Crowder (7.1 PPG, 3.4 RPG) got hot against the Pistons last game, finishing with 19 points, seven boards, three assists, a steal and a block in 45 minutes of action. Crowder has needed to play a lot of minutes as an undersized power forward with Boston, but he’s responded well and will be an x-factor against Brooklyn.
The Nets have played extremely well as of late and C Brook Lopez (15.8 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 1.7 BPG) has been dominant inside for this team. Over the past two games, Lopez is averaging 29.0 PPG, 11.0 RPG and 4.5 BPG in 36.5 MPG. The Celtics do not have big men that are great at defending the rim, so he should be able to tear it up on Monday as well.
PF Thaddeus Young (14.2 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 1.7 SPG) has also played very well lately, putting up 15.8 PPG, 5.4 RPG and 1.4 SPG in 32.8 MPG over the past five contests. Young is very quick for a power forward and should have a strength advantage over whoever mans the spot for the Celtics on Monday. He’ll need to aggressively take the ball to the rim and also rebound well in this game.
SG Joe Johnson (15.0 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 3.4 APG) has been solid over the past two games, averaging 17.0 PPG. Johnson can take games off here and there and the Nets will really need him to come out firing against Boston.
PG Jarrett Jack (12.4 PPG, 5.0 APG, 3.2 RPG, 1.0 SPG) has done a very good job of running this offense recently, averaging 12.8 PPG, 6.2 APG and 3.8 RPG over the past five games. He’ll need to continue to score timely buckets and get his teammates the ball in the right spots moving forward.
PG Deron Williams (13.0 PPG, 6.1 APG, 3.0 RPG, 1.0 SPG) has turned into the wild card for Brooklyn. He played well against Indiana, finishing with 17 points and six assists in 24 minutes of action. He is, however, also capable of putting up single-digits in scoring on any given night. He’s shooting just 37% from the field in March and he must find some sort of consistency soon.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
