NBA Basketball
2012-12-31 - Atlanta Hawks at Houston Rockets
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States: NBA Basketball
Monday 31 December 2012 - Tip Off 7pm
Midnight (British Time)
Preview
The Houston Rockets (16-14) surge has been curtailed in the last few days as they were beaten on back to back nights by two of the best teams in the Western Conference, the San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Now they get ready to take on one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference as the Atlanta Hawks (19-9) come to visit, although it looks like they may be short-handed again for this game.
Josh Smith missed the last game for the Hawks and his status has been set as questionable for this one. The Power Forward is leading the Hawks with 16.6 points per game this season so his absence can't be downplayed in this game. Zaza Pachulia would continue to deputise for Smith and will be coming off a game where he scored 17 points and grabbed 14 boards.
Anthony Morrow and Devin Harris are also expected to miss out for the Hawks who will also be visiting New Orleans tomorrow night to take on the Hornets.
Atlanta have won 4 games in a row and they are averaging 107.3 points per game during this run and they should be able to take advantage of the Houston Rockets defense that has struggled all season.
Houston will hope to look after the ball a little better in this one having given away 24 turnovers again on Saturday, the second time in a row they have given away that season high number of turnovers. James Harden continues to be productive and has reached at least 20 points for the 12th time in a row, the longest streak for a Rocket since 2006 when Yao Ming did it 14 times in a row.
Head to Head
Houston have won 4 in a row in the series including a 7 point win on the road last season back in February.
The Rockets have won their last 2 home games against Atlanta and they have only lost twice in their last 21 years.
Prediction
The Atlanta Hawks have been playing some really good basketball of late, but so have Houston for the main part.
I just feel the short-handed nature of the road team will be enough for Houston to take care of Atlanta in this one. It will likely be a high scoring game, but I see the Rockets doing just enough to cover the spread.
The Pick :
Houston Rockets 110-104 Atlanta Hawks
BEST BETTING TIP :
I'll back the Houston Rockets - 4.5 Points @ 1.92
