Cavaliers vs. Rockets: NBA odds, Picks and Predictions
Cavaliers vs. Rockets Odds
| Cavaliers Odds | -9.5 |
| Rockets Odds | +9.5 |
| Over/Under | 219 |
| Date | Thu, Jan. 26 |
| Time | 8:00 p.m. |
| TV | BSOH |
On Thursday, the Houston Rockets will host the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Toyota Center. Entering play, Cleveland (29-20) owns the fifth-best record in the Eastern Conference. Houston (11-37) currently possesses the worst record in the entire NBA. In this matchup, oddsmakers are expecting the Cavaliers to come away with a victory, pricing them as 9.5-point road favorites on the spread.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Road woes
In 24 road games this season, Cleveland is 9-15, which is the worst away record of any team currently holding a playoff position in the Eastern Conference. The majority of the team’s struggles in these spots have come as a result of their struggles defending the perimeter.
Playing on the road, the Cavaliers rank 28th in opponent three-point percentage. According to props.cash eight of the last 15 guards to have a three-pointers made prop released against Cleveland have hit the over since January 16. In that span, Desmond Bane and Jordan Poole have both had games of five made three-pointers against Cleveland.
Mitchell questionable
Per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, Donovan Mitchell did not practice on Thursday and his status for the remainder of the road trip remains uncertain. Consequently, bettors should treat Mitchell closer to “doubtful” ahead of tip-off tonight, with the expectation that he will be on the sidelines.
Per CourtIQ, Jarrett Allen (+5.4%) sees the largest increase in usage with Mitchell off of the floor this season, with Darius Garland (+2.4%) also seeing a modest bump. When his fellow backcourt-mate is off of the floor this year, Garland is averaging 25.3 points and 8.0 assists per 36 minutes of action. Today is also Garland’s 23rd birthday.
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Houston Rockets
Porter Jr. OUT
Tonight, Kevin Porter Jr. remains out, having last played on January 11 against the Sacramento Kings. Since that point, the Rockets are 1-6 overall, with their lone win coming against the Minnesota Timberwolves on the second-half of a home-and-home set. Across those seven contests, Houston ranks 26th in Net Rating, having been outscored by 9.7 points per 100 possessions.
Per Cleaning the Glass, the Rockets rank in the 16th percentile in offensive efficiency and the 11th percentile in defensive efficiency this season with Porter Jr. on the floor, compared to the 11th percentile in offensive efficiency and the 50th percentile in defensive efficiency when he is on the sidelines.
Who will step up for Houston with Porter Jr. out
When Porter Jr. is out, Eric Gordon is typically the player who sees his role expand the most within the offense. However, with Gordon also being ruled out for this evening, Jabari Smith and Jalen Green are the two most likely candidates to see their usage increase on the offensive end of the floor.
Per CourtIQ, when both Porter Jr. and Gordon are off of the floor this season, Green is averaging 25.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per 36 minutes. Jabari Smith is averaging 23.2 points and 6.7 rebounds per 36 minutes as a co-star in these situations.
Cavaliers vs. Rockets – Picks & Predictions
Since December 15, the Houston Rockets are 2-19 overall, having been outscored by 10.6 points per 100 possessions. Nevertheless, they have value tonight as a home underdog against a short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers team that is likely to be without their leading scorer, Donovan Mitchell. Buy the hook to get to a round number on the spread, and trust the Rockets to keep this contest competitive on their home floor.
PICK: Rockets +10.5 (-125, MGM)
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