NBA Betting Picks January 25 – Toronto Raptors at Houston Rockets
James Harden has scored a lot of points during his career, and he’s scored a lot of points during an epic scoring binge.
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But Harden never scored more than he did in the Houston Rockets’ last game when he dropped 61 on the Knicks. And the Rockets needed all of them in a narrow victory over one of the East’s worst teams. Now, Harden and the Rockets get one of the conference’s best when the Toronto Raptors visit on Friday night.
Toronto Raptors at Houston Rockets
Date and Time: Friday, January 25, 2019, 8 p.m. ET
Location: Toyota Center, Houston, TX
Opening NBA Odds: (Check Back Later)
Raptors at Rockets TV Coverage: ESPN
Odds Analysis
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Toronto had its three-game winning streak snapped against the Pacers in its last outing. But if there are moral victories, this one would qualify. Going against a quality Indy club without three key players, the Raptors staged a comeback and nearly won on the road. Still, the Raps are battling Milwaukee for the top spot in the East and have gone 8-2 in their last 10 outings. A reason for the Raps’ success has been their play on the road where their 15 wins are the most in the Eastern Conference.
Despite the heroics of Harden, the Rockets haven’t been able to string wins together lately. They also haven’t lost consecutive games since early December, so I guess that’s a decent trade off. Throughout the month of January the Rockets have alternated wins and losses, continuing that stretch with win over the Knicks on Wednesday. They failed to cover the 8-point spread in the 114-110 win and they are 0-4 ATS in their last four games.
Raptors
The Raps nearly pulled off the sweep with their best player on the bench. Kawhi Leonard hasn’t played since dropping 33 on the Celtics last week. He will be back in the lineup on Friday presenting a problem for Harden and the Rockets’ offense. Leonard sat following the Celtics game, missing a win over the Suns the next night. With home matchups against Memphis and Sacramento, it presented an opportunity to get Leonard more rest.
Showing off their depth, others picked up the slack with Pascal Siakam sinking the game-winner against the Suns and Danny Green pouring in a season-high 24 points to beat Memphis. Leonard, a two-time defensive player of the year, knows Harden and the Rockets well from his days in San Antonio, and the pair has had some noteworthy battles in the past.
And Kawhi is itching to go after missing the last four games. I expect him to have a big night on both ends of the floor. In five games before his hiatus, Kawhi scored at least 30 points in five of them and twice topped the 40-point mark. It was a nice run for someone not Harden.
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Rockets
Help is on the way for Harden with Chris Paul nearing a return, and there’s a possibility he plays on Friday, which will be a relief. As much as he tried, Harden couldn’t do it all himself with the Rockets sporting just a 6-5 record while alternating wins and losses since the beginning of the year.
While Houston is maintaining its record until CP3 and Clint Capela return, Harden is hitting another stratosphere. The most dynamic scorer in the game has taken it upon himself to carry the team and he outdid himself by scoring a career-best 61 to help beat the Knickerbockers. He finished 17 of 38 from the floor, 5 of 20 on threes, and he got to the stripe 25 times making 22. He capped his fifth 50-point game of the season with a layup with 3.8 seconds to go, clinching the outcome. At some point the outbursts are going to subside, and that could happen once Paul returns. But I doubt it. At this point it’s expected that Harden is going to score at least 30 points, making him a player on the live betting lines at BookMaker.eu.
Bet Raptors at Rockets at BookMaker.eu
When you shoot the ball as often as Harden does and get to the free throw line 20 times a game, the points are sure to follow. It’s not like the other teams aren’t trying to stop him and Harden still goes off. He reached his season average in the first half against New York and is averaging 45.3 points per game this month. Toronto’s superior depth will play a big role in their win, but Harden will again be Houston’s offense. Expect him to score plenty of points, but Leonard, Kyle Lowry and the rest of the Raptors will do their part.
NBA Score Prediction: Raptors 109, Rockets 104
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