Utah Jazz at Houston Rockets
January 8th, 2011 at 8:30 PM EST
Opening Line: Houston -1.5
Current Line: Houston -1.0
Opening Total: 207.5
Current Total: 207.5
Opening Moneyline: Houston -120 / Utah +100
Current Moneyline: Houston -120 / Utah +100
Houston has been struggling of late, as losers of their last 5, but Utah is riding a two game losing streak as well and they haven’t lost three straight regular season games in over a year. Despite that, they are still 1 point underdogs to the Rockets who are 10-6 at the Toyota Center. Utah is a good road team though at 11-6, so this promises to be a good game.
Last game the Jazz lost because they struggled with turnovers, setting a season high for themselves with 23 of them. Deron Williams committed 5 of them and went 4 of 13 from the floor. The only Jazz player to have a good game was Paul Millsap who scored 20, after coming back from a hip injury that sidelined him for a game.
“We can’t win with 20-plus turnovers, and it starts with me,” said Deron Williams.
Houston had their problems defensively with the Magic, giving up 110 points and looking disorientated most of the night as the Magic guards shot well from three and penetrated at will. Houston’s perimeter defense has been a problem all year and they will have to remedy that to beat Deron Williams and the Jazz.
Some betting trends:
Utah has won 16 of their past 24 games and 10 of their last 14 on the road. They are 4-2 over their last 6 against the ROckets and the total has gone UNDER in 4 of those 6 games. The total has also gone UNDER In 6 of their last 8 in Houston. They have lost 4 of their last 5 on the road to the Rockets.
Houston has lost 5 of their last 6 games but are 9-2 over their last 11 at home. They are 1-3-1 ATS in their last 5 home games and the total has gone OVER in 5 of their last 7 at home.
Key matchups:
Paul Millsap vs Luis Scola
Both players are candidates for their first all star selection this year and have been playing much better than anyone expected they would going into the season. Scola came off impressive FIBA play that has carried over into the season and he is averaging 20 ppg and 9 rpg. Millsap had a 46 point game against the “Heatles” earlier this year and has averaged 17.6 points per game and 8.0 rebounds per game. In his career against the Rockets he is averaging 9.0 points per game and 6.6 rebounds per game in 22 minutes a game. His playing time has dramatically increased over previous years, however, as he is seeing 34 minutes a game this year, thus he should improve on his career numbers against the Rockets.
Deron Williams vs Kyle Lowry & Aaron Brooks
While Lowry and Brooks are both quicker players than Williams, it shouldn’t matter much. Neither has that good of an outside shot (though Brooks can get hot) so Williams can lay off them and force them to pass the ball or take shots outside their comfort zone. And he has a size advantage over both, quite handily as Lowry and Brooks are both stereotypical “waterbugs.” He should be able to utilize his size and strength when getting to the basket and overpowering the diminutive Houston guards.
Both teams are coming off losses last night and are on the second leg of a back to back. Expect some sluggish play and the total has a good chance of going under given that both teams will be a bit weary.
