Cleveland Cavaliers at Houston Rockets
Prediction: Houston Rockets
I successfully played against the Cavaliers last night - they lost outright at Memphis. Off that loss, many will assume that they can't possibly lose two in a row. While it's true that they have fared quite well, over the long-term, when playing the second of back to back games, they're just 3-4 ATS in that situation this season. With last night's game having gone to overtime, I feel that this may prove to be another difficult spot for them.
The Rockets have always fared very well vs. teams from the Eastern Conference. They're already 1-0 ATS (two point loss at Atlanta) in this season's lone non-conference game. Looking back further and we find them at a profitable 36-24-1 ATS (40-21) SU against Eastern Conf. opponents the past few seasons. Looking back still further and we find them at a lucrative 206-149-12 (58%) ATS their last 367 non-conference games.
Given those impressive stats vs. teams from the East, it's not that surprising to learn that the Rockets have had plenty of success against the Cavs, when playing here at Houston. In fact, they're 3-0 SU/ATS the last three times that they were a host in this series and they've held the Cavs to an average of just 71.3 points in those games. The Rockets won those games by scores of 93-74, 92-77 and 81-63. Looking back further and we find Houston at 13-3 the last 16 times it hosted Cleveland. Note that the Cavs only victory here since 2002 came by just two points.
The Rockets are also a highly profitable 8-1 ATS the last nine times that they were listed as underdogs. They've won three of their last four and the lone loss came by a single point. Consider taking the points.
Ben burns 12/9
Reply With Quote