The Houston Rockets Wednesday night matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers kickoffs a brutal stretch of games. The Rockets will play six games in nine nights between December 15th and Christmas Eve.
Adding insult to injury, are injuries. Jalen Green, Kevin Porter Jr, and Danuel House remain out and Eric Gordon and Christian Wood look set to join them. The Cavaliers have been the surprise of the season and own a well-deserved 17-12 record. These are the odds and best bets.
Rockets v Cavaliers: Odds
The Houston Rockets are 10 point underdogs entering the matchup, and have an over/under of 103.5 points. The Cavaliers over/under for points scored is 113.5.
Rockets v Cavaliers Best Bet 3: Over Rockets 103.5 total points
The Rockets might be without Eric Gordon and Christian Wood, but this is a team that has failed to score under 104 points only once over the past ten games. The Cavaliers may have the third ranked defense, but that still grades out to 104.7 points per 100 possessions.
Not to mention, Evan Mobley is questionable with a sore right hip. With both Gordon and Wood out, the Cavaliers could be quite judicious with his minutes. Earlier in the season, Mobley missed four games, all losses, and the Cavaliers defensive rating ballooned to 116 points per 100 possessions.
The Rockets aren't at full strength, but there's a lot of reason to believe that they can cross the 104 point threshold.
Rockets v Cavaliers Best Bet 2: Take the Rockets to cover the spread
A ten point spread is massive. The Cavaliers are the better team, and have fewer injuries, but expecting the Rockets to lose by more than ten points is an awful lot. The Cavaliers have been incredibly hot as of late, they've won eight of their last ten games, and of their eight wins, seven have been by more than 10 points.
However, following their matchup with the Rockets they have showdowns with the Bucks, Hawks, and Celtics. It wouldn't be a surprise if they already had their sights set on those three matches.
Rockets v Cavaliers Best Bet 1: Darius Garland over 19.5 points
Darius Garland has had a breakout season. He is averaging a career high in points (18.9), assists (7.5), and rebounds (3.0) per game. While him scoring 20 points would be him beating his season average, the Rockets have had a hard time containing teams.
Over the Rockets' past ten games, they are allowing opponents to score 114.5 points per game. That mark would be the second-worst in the league over a full season.
The Rockets will also be without Eric Gordon and Kevin Porter Jr. While neither are All-Defensive team candidates, they're both solid defenders. If D.J. Augustin is called to start, Garland will have a runway to the paint.
Remember, even in the Rockets win against the Atlanta Hawks, they let Trae Young score 41 points. Garland is an excellent player and has an excellent matchup to score 20 plus points.
The Rockets might not be favorites but if you make the right bets every game can be worth watching. The game tips off at 6:10 Central time, so make sure you get your bets in before tip-off.