Friday night in the NBA I will have a free pick in the game between the San Antonio Spurs and the Houston Rockets, which will take place at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The game has a start time of 8:00 pm (Eastern) and will be televised on NBA TV. Current Vegas betting odds have the Spurs listed as 2.5 point favorites, while the total is set at 204.
Analysis: The San Antonio Spurs come in hot as they have won 18 of their last 21 games, which includes a solid 12 point home win over Houston on Wednesday night. The Spurs are putting it together at the right time and are starting to win easily as 17 of their last 18 wins 17 wins coming by DD. This may be the best team in the West right now. San Antonio has gone 13-3 ATS in their last 16 games following a SU win of more than 10 points but just 3-8 ATS in their last 11 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600. The Spurs have been a good offensive team this year, ranking 8th in scoring (103.1 ppg), 4th in shooting, 5th in 3 point shooting and 4th in FT shooting. Defensively the Spurs have been solid, ranking 3rd in points allowed (96.8 ppg), 11th in defensive FG% and 24th in 3 point defense.
The Houston Rockets have been playing good ball at the moment as they have won 9 of their last 11 games, including taking a 108-101 win over Dallas on Thursday night. For the year they are now 52-24 overall, including 24-14 on the road and they are tied with the Memphis Grizzlies for the 2nd seed in the West. Houston has gone 10-1 ATS in their last 11 games following a SU loss of more than 10 points, but just 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600. The Rockets have be a solid offensive team this year, ranking 5th in scoring (103.6 ppg), 21st in shooting, 15th in 3 point shooting and 27th in FT shooting. Defensively the Rockets have average this year, ranking 17th in points allowed (100.5 ppg), 13th in defensive FG% and 1st in 3 point defense.
Pick: I am going with the red hot spurs in this one as they have just been crushing teams of late and are off a 12 point home win over these same Rockets on Wednesday night. The Spurs now have the #2 seed in their sights and I just don't see Houston standing in their way here. 17 of the last Spurs 18 wins have been by DD and I see them winning by at least 7 points in this one.
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