NBA Basketball
2011-02-23 - Houston Rockets at Cleveland Cavaliers
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States: NBA Basketball
Wednesday 23 February 2011 - Tip-Off 7pm ET
Midnight (British Standard Time)
Preview
The Houston Rockets (27-31) still have their Play Off hopes this season and will look to take advantage of what looks like being a nice start to the second half of the season. Houston won at Detroit last night, and face New Jersey next, but for now will be concentrating on the Cleveland Cavaliers (10-46).
After losing 3 of 4 games going into the All-Star break, Houston found themselves 5 games outside of the Play Off picture in the West. The win over Detroit was interesting as the Rockets were really helped by their bench, resting 4 of the 5 starters in the 4th Quarter for being ineffective.
Patrick Patterson had a season high 20 points off the bench, while the likes of Kyle Lowry and Kevin Martin were struggling. Martin will hope the Cleveland team can provide a boost for himself after scoring 40 points in a win over them earlier this season as he has averaged just 13.8 points a game in his last 4 starts.
Cleveland must have been cursing the All-Star break as they picked up arguably their biggest win of the season when knocking off the LA Lakers. That means the team have won 2 of 3 games since losing 26 consecutive games.
Mo Williams was injured in that game early and he is a doubt for this game. However, Cleveland will feel secure with Ramon Sessions playing at Point, as Sessions has filled in admirably for Williams for much of this season.
Head to Head
Houston won the meeting between the teams easily earlier this season, but they have lost on their last 2 visits to this arena, both when LeBron James was still plying his trade in his home State.
The favourite is actually 7-2 against the spread in the last 9 games in the series.
Cleveland are 9-16-1 against the spread this season at home, Houston are 17-12-1 on the road.
Houston are 7-7-1 against the spread in back to back nights play.
Other Interesting Notes
Cleveland are 6-18-2 against the spread in their last 26 games following an ATS win.
They are 3-10-1 against the spread in their last 14 games at home.
The Cavaliers are 7-18-1 against the spread in their last 26 games as the underdog by between 5 and 10 points.
Houston are 9-3 against the spread in their last 12 games against a team with a winning record of under 40% at home.
However, they are just 2-7 against the spread in their last 9 games as the favourite by between 5 and 10 points.
Prediction
I will be favouring Houston to cover the spread here for a couple of reasons:
First, the normal starters for Houston have received plenty of rest yesterday, even if it was for being ineffective, and they will want to fight for their positions here.
Second, Kevin Martin is almost unguardable by the Cavaliers, and their porous defense has allowed Martin to score 30 points in 4 consecutive games against them. While Martin has been struggling of late, this is a big chance for him to get back on track.
Third, all the emotions from the win over the Lakers will have lessened thanks to the days in between games. The lack of playing time for the team since then could lead to a slow start here.
Finally, Mo Williams is a big loss for Cleveland. Even though they beat the Lakers without him, his absence coincided with the teams losing run. Even though Ramon Sessions has filled in well in Williams' absence, the back ups have struggled.
The Pick :
Cleveland Cavaliers 98-105 Houston Rockets
BEST BETTING TIP :
Take the Houston Rockets - 5.5 Points @ 1.91 (2 UNITS)Follow me on Twitter @DavindaAulak- the direct link is below
