The Houston Rockets hung 130 on a good Denver defense and now gets a Philadelphia 76ers team with road problems. At minus 4, the NBA odds are good for Houston.
The Philadelphia 76ers have been less than stellar away from home this season, with just a 7-11 record that includes three consecutive losses entering Friday night’s matchup with the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center. Do the NBA odds favor the Rockets? That is an emphatic “yes.”
Houston is a 4-point favorite according to information provided courtesy of The Action Network. The Rockets are only 8-8 against the spread at home, but Philadelphia is just 8-10 ATS on the road and covered just once in their current three-game road losing streak.
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The numbers show the 76ers to be 4-2 ATS in their last six games, but the first three of those games were at home, where Philadelphia is a robust 16-2 straight up and 9-8-1 ATS.
The Rockets, meanwhile, are 5-2 ATS in their last seven games and put up 130 points on the top-five defense of the Nuggets on New Year’s Eve.
This will be the first of the two annual meetings between Philadelphia and Houston, with the 76ers 2-1 straight up and ATS over the last three meetings. The last time the Sixers visited the Rockets, however, they were rolled over 107-91 on March 8, breaking a string of four straight covers by Philadelphia.
Philadelphia 76ers at Houston Rockets
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia (76ers), AT&T SportsNet-Southwest (Rockets), ESPN (national)
Tickets: Toyota Center, 7 p.m. local (8 p.m. Eastern)
Records: Philadelphia 23-13 (17-18-1 ATS, 8-10 road ATS), Houston 23-11 (17-17 ATS, 8-8 home ATS)
Availability report (as of 8:30 p.m. on Thursday)
Philadelphia: OUT–Jonah Bolden (G League), Marial Shayok (two-way, G League), Matisse Thybulle (right knee sprain/bone bruise); DOUBTFUL–James Ennis (stomach illness).
Houston: OUT–Michael Frazier (two-way, G League), Gerald Green (left cuneiform fracture), Nene Hilario (left adductor strain), William Howard (two-way, G League).
There are six games on the NBA schedule Friday night and here’s a glance at the other five matchups.
Atlanta Hawks at Boston Celtics
TV: Fox Sports Southeast-Atlanta (Hawks), NBC Sports Boston (Celtics)
Tickets: TD Garden, 7 p.m. local (7 p.m. Eastern)
Records: Atlanta 7-27 (14-20 ATS, 6-13 road ATS), Boston 23-8 (19-10-2 ATS, 9-5-1 home ATS)
Availability report
Atlanta: OUT–Charlie Brown (two-way, G League); PROBABLE–Kevin Huerter (mid-back pain), Jabari Parker (right shoulder impingement).
Boston: OUT–Carsen Edwards (G League), Tacko Fall (two-way, G League), Vincent Poirier (right pinkie fracture), Tremont Waters (two-way, G League), Robert Williams (left hip, bone edema); QUESTIONABLE–Kemba Walker (illness); PROBABLE–Jaylen Brown (illness).
Notable: The Atlanta Hawks snapped a 10-game losing streak with a win over the Magic on Monday, but are still just 3-7 ATS over their last 10. The Boston Celtics have won four of their last six games at home and have covered in three of those contests. Atlanta is just 1-4 ATS over its last five games, bucking the Celtics’ upward trend at 5-2 ATS in their last seven.
The Hawks should get Jabari Parker back for this one, while Boston may not have Kemba Walker, but should have Jaylen Brown after he missed the Celtics’ win over the Hornets on New Year’s Eve. This will be the first time these teams have played this season, with Boston winning the last three meetings, going 2-1 ATS in the process.
Miami Heat at Orlando Magic
TV: Fox Sports Sun (Heat), Fox Sports Florida (Magic)
Tickets: Amway Center, 7 p.m. local (7 p.m. Eastern)
Records: Miami 25-9 (20-13-1 ATS, 8-8-1 road ATS), Orlando 15-19 (14-18-2 ATS, 6-10-1 home ATS)
Availability report
Miami: Not required to submit report until 1 p.m. Eastern on Friday. In Thursday’s 84-76 victory over the Raptors, Miami did not have Daryl Macon (two-way, G League), KZ Okpala (G League) or Justise Winslow (lower back, bone bruise).
Orlando: OUT–Al-Farouq Aminu (right knee, torn meniscus), Michael Carter-Williams (left shoulder, AC joint sprain), Jonathan Isaac (left knee, posterior lateral corner injury/medial bone contusion), B.J. Johnson (two-way, G League); QUESTIONABLE–Aaron Gordon (sore left Achilles).
Notable: The Miami Heat are just 1-4 ATS over their last five games, with the lone cover coming on Thursday night in a throwback 84-76 victory over the Raptors at home. The Orlando Magic are also coming off a win, throttling Washington on New Year’s Day, and are 4-5-1 ATS over their last 10 games.
For Orlando, this will be its first game without Jonathan Isaac, the young rising star who injured his knee in the win over the Wizards. He’s expected to miss two months. This is the first of the four annual installments of the NBA’s annual Battle of Florida, with the Magic going 2-1 straight up and ATS over the last three meetings.
Portland Trail Blazers at Washington Wizards
TV: NBC Sports Northwest (Trail Blazers), NBC Sports Washington (Wizards)
Tickets: Capital One Arena, 7 p.m. local (7 p.m. Eastern)
Records: Portland 14-21 (13-21-1 ATS, 7-11 road ATS), Washington 10-23 (16-16-1 ATS, 6-8 home ATS)
Availability report
Portland: OUT–Zach Collins (left shoulder dislocation), Rodney Hood (left Achilles tendon rupture), Skal Labissiere (left knee inflammation), Jusuf Nurkic (left leg fracture); PROBABLE–Mario Hezonja (back pain).
Washington: OUT–Davis Bertans (right quad strain), Thomas Bryant (right foot, stress reaction), Rui Hachimura (groin injury), C.J. Miles (left wrist surgery), Moritz Wagner (sprained left ankle), John Wall (left Achilles rehab); QUESTIONABLE–Bradley Beal (lower right leg soreness).
Notable: The Portland Trail Blazers enter Friday night on a five-game losing streak and are 0-5 ATS in those games. The Washington Wizards have lost six of their last eight and are just 4-8 ATS over their last 12 games. The Blazers have not been great at covering against Washington recently, going 2-4 ATS in the last six meetings.
On the other hand, the Wizards have been dreadful against the number at home, going 1-4 ATS in their last five games at Capital One Arena. It’s been more than a year since these teams last met (Nov. 18, 2018, to be precise) and it is Washington that has gone 2-1 straight up and ATS in its last three meetings with the Trail Blazers.
New York Knicks at Phoenix Suns
TV: MSG (Knicks), Fox Sports Arizona (Suns)
Tickets: Talking Stick Resort Arena, 7 p.m. local (9 p.m. Eastern)
Records: New York 10-24 (18-16 ATS, 10-7 road ATS), Phoenix 13-21 (19-14-1 ATS, 9-8-1 home ATS)
Availability report
New York: OUT–Ivan Rabb (two-way, G League); QUESTIONABLE–Elfrid Payton (personal reasons), Dennis Smith Jr. (left oblique strain).
Phoenix: OUT–Jared Harper (two-way, G League), Jalen Lecque (G League); DOUBTFUL–Frank Kaminsky (right knee soreness); PROBABLE–Ricky Rubio (left hip soreness).
Notable: While the Phoenix Suns have won just twice in their last 10 games, the suddenly competent New York Knicks enter Friday night with their first three-game winning streak of the season and have gone 7-3 ATS over their last 10 games. Phoenix hasn’t been bad against the number even with all the losing, with a 5-4-1 ATS mark over its last 10.
That includes the Suns going 4-1 ATS over their last five games with three consecutive covers. Phoenix is favored Friday night, which may not bode well for the club — the Suns have lost their last five games at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The Knicks have lost two of the last three meetings with Phoenix, going 1-2 ATS, as the teams meet for the first time since March 6.
New Orleans Pelicans at Los Angeles Lakers
TV: Fox Sports New Orleans (Pelicans), Spectrum SportsNet (Lakers), ESPN (national)
Tickets: Staples Center, 7:30 p.m. local (10:30 p.m. Eastern)
Records: New Orleans 11-23 (14-18-1 ATS, 6-9-1 road ATS), Los Angeles 27-7 (18-15 ATS, 9-7 home ATS)
Availability
New Orleans: OUT–Zylan Cheatham (two-way, G League), Josh Gray (two-way, G League), Darius Miller (right Achilles surgery), Zion Williamson (right knee scope).
Los Angeles: OUT–Kostas Antetokounmpo (two-way, G League), Devontae Cacok (two-way, G League), DeMarcus Cousins (right knee rehabilitation), Talen Horton-Tucker (G League); QUESTIONABLE–Alex Caruso (right calf tightness); PROBABLE–Anthony Davis (right shoulder soreness).
Notable: While this was supposed to be Zion Williamson’s debut in Hollywood, instead it will just be the first time Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram face their old employer after being traded to the New Orleans Pelicans over the summer. The Pelicans have been a good bet of late, going 5-1 ATS in their last six games. The Los Angeles Lakers have not, with a 2-7 ATS mark in their last nine.
Both teams enter on winning streaks: New Orleans has won a season-high four straight games, while the Lakers have won their last two. When the teams met in NOLA on Nov. 27, Los Angeles got the 114-110 victory, while the Pelicans covered as 6½-point home underdogs. The Lakers have three straight wins over New Orleans, which is 2-1 ATS in those three games.