The Houston Rockets will face the Miami Heat on January 8 at the Kaseya Center. Miami is coming off a 97-113 loss against the Phoenix Suns, while the Rockets won their most recent game against the Milwaukee Bucks at home. In their last ten games, the Heat have gone 6-4, while the Rockets have gone 5-5.
Preview
Miami has gone 9-6 in their home-stand games, while the Rockets have been 3-10. The Heat’s net rating is 1.2, and the Rockets’ net rating is 2.4, which is better than the Heat. Jimmy Butler is unavailable for the Heat, so the team will need important contributions from others. In particular, the Heat’s rookie, Jaime Jaquez, has made great strides and is proving significant to their offense. For the Rockets, Dillion Brooks will miss the game. The Rockets’ big men, Jabari Smith Jr. and Alperen Sengun, have played well under their new coach. The game will feature a high-scoring defense and a low-scoring offense.
Starting lineup
The Rockets’ starting lineup will include Fred VanVleet as the point guard, Jalen Green as the back court Shooting guard, Jae’Sean Tate will play the SF role, Jabari Smith Jr. will play as the Point forward and Alperen Sengun will be in the center position. For the Heat, Kyle Lowry will start as the Point Guard, Tyler Hero will share the back-court as the SG, Jaime Jacquez Jr., and Nikola Jovic will be at the front as shooting forward and point forward and Bam Adebayo will be at the center.
Betting tips
Rockets’ center Sengun leads on both points (21.4) and 9 rebounds per contest and averages 5 assists. Defensively, he gets 1.1 steals and 0.7 blocked shots. His point props are set over 22.5 for -120, over 8.5 rebounds for -135 and over 4.5 assists for +100. While Heat’s point guard Tyler Herro is averaging 22 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 1.3 steals. His point props are set at -105 for over 22.5, and +105 for over 5.5 rebounds. Herro has averaged 20.4 points over his last ten games, which is 2.1 points less than his over/under for this particular game.
Prediction
The Miami Heat are favorites to win the game against the Houston Rockets, according to the betting spread. The total score for the game is expected to be 216.5, which is a relatively low-scoring affair. The Rockets are 20-12-2 against the spread this season, while the Heat have gone 16-18-1.
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