NBA Basketball
2010-11-19 - Houston Rockets at Toronto Raptors
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States: NBA Basketball
Friday 19 November 2010 - Tip-Off 7pm ET
Midnight (British Standard Time)
Preview
Both of these teams have made struggling starts to the new season and for different reasons. The Toronto Raptors (3-9) were expecting a season of rebuilding as they lost Chris Bosh in the Summer and then moved Hedo Turkoglu on to Phoenix. Houston (3-8) have been hit with a series of injuries which are beginning to take their toll on the roster depth.
The Raptors have a chance to win consecutive games for the first time this season after putting in a solid Defensive effort in their win over Philadelphia. This allowed them to finish their 4 game road trip with a respectable 2-2 record as they held the 76ers to just 39 2nd half points.
The Raptors will be hoping Leandro Barbosa can return after missing the last 3 games for the team.
Houston, on the other hand, were handed their most lopsided defeat of the season when getting blown away by Oklahoma City in their last game. This is their worst start in 5 seasons as injuries begin mounting up.
The season had opened with lots of promise with the impending return of Yao Ming, but the Chinese superstar has now missed the last 4 games and has been placed on limited minutes all season. Aaron Brooks then went down with injury and has missed the last 6 games leaving Kyle Lowry and Ismael Smith to run the Offense.
Defensively they have had their problems, allowing an average of 111 points per game in their 7 road games this season, ending up with 5 losses. Luis Scola and Kevin Martin are doing their best for the the Rockets but it is hard to keep up when you cannot stop the other team scoring.
Head to Head
Toronto have won 3 in a row at home against Houston, winning by an average of 16 points per game as the home team continues to dominate this series. That extended the run to 6 consecutive wins for the home team.
Toronto are 4-1 against the spread in their last 5 home games against Houston.
Toronto play 7 of their next 8 games on the schedule here at home and will be hoping to improve their recent 4-15 record there against the spread.
Prediction
It can be tough picking between two bad teams, and unfortunately for these two sides, they are two of the worst teams in the NBA.
However, I feel Toronto have been playing well in recent games, having gained wins in Orlando and Philadelphia while also losing a close game to the Miami Heat.
The Rockets will pose problems after winning 2 of their last 3 road games, those wins coming by a combined total of 10 points, but I think they are struggling far more Defensively at the moment and injuries are hurting them at the moment.
I will pick the Raptors to win this game as the Underdog. It will be close I am sure, but I feel they are playing a little better at the moment and have the home court advantage.
The Pick :
Toronto Raptors 108-103 Houston Rockets
