Taking the Under – Houston Rockets vs. Utah Jazz

The Houston Rockets and Utah Jazz, both ranked in the NBA Power Rankings (see power rankings article), battle it out again with playoff positioning at stake. Houston and Utah have both been playing very well lately with the Rockets going 8 and 2 straight-up in their last 10 games for a 47 and 25 straight-up record. Against the spread, Houston is 35-36-1 on the year. Their ATS record on the road is 19 and 16.

Utah was one of the hottest teams in the NBA after the All-Star break when winning 12 games in a row. They got cold, loosing three straight, but have bounced back with two wins in a row. Despite the mini slump, their straight-up record is very solid at 43 and 26 while they have been decent ATS, going 36-33 over all and 20-15 at home. Their against the spread record at home is a fantastic 20 and 15.

Here is the NBA betting line for this game.

Houston Rockets +6 -110 +220 O 193 -110

Utah Jazz -6 -110 -260 U 193 -110

Here are a few online wagering trends for this game.

The Houston Rockets are 6 and 0 ATS in their last 6 games on the road.

The Under is 6 and 0 in the Houston Rockets last 6 games on the road.

The Utah Jazz is 1 and 4 ATS in their last 5 games overall.

The Under is 7 and 0 in the Utah Jazz’s last 7 games at home.

193 seems like a low total but neither team is going to run unless they have to. Both Utah and Houston like their set offenses.

Utah is still a master squad at the pick and roll with both Mehmet Okur and Carlos Boozer able to set it up in the paint and Deron Williams dishing like he’s John Stockton. Okur is probable for this game which means he most likely will suit up for the Jazz.

When it comes to Houston, everything goes through their frontline of Yao Ming, Luis Scola and Shane Battier. If you want to play a pass and dunk game with the Rockets, they will be more than happy to do it!

It means, of course, that the under is a likely scenario in this game. Asking the Jazz to cover -6 in the sportsbook might be asking too much, but betting on Houston, who can get pummeled in this game if Utah is fired up enough, is too risky in my mind.

I’ll play for both teams slowing it down and getting the best shot they can out of their set offenses.

I’ll make a wager that this game goes under the BetOnline Total of 193.