In the start of an indefinite run without starting center Christian Wood, the Houston Rockets are hoping veteran big man DeMarcus Cousins will pick up much of the slack. His first chance to do so comes Saturday at home versus a division rival, with tipoff between the Rockets and San Antonio Spurs set for 7 p.m. Central from Toyota Center.
While it’s been an up-and-down season for the former All-Star, the optimistic case with Cousins is that he’s generally played better with more minutes. When Wood missed three games with his initial right ankle injury in late January, Cousins started all three and averaged 17.3 points (40.9% on 3-pointers), 14.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game.
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Aside from Wood, who again sprained his right ankle in Thursday’s game at Memphis and will be “re-evaluated on a weekly basis,” the Rockets could be much healthier than they’ve been in recent days.
Veteran guards John Wall and Victor Oladipo staggered maintenance absences during Wednesday and Thursday’s road back-to-back, so Saturday’s game will likely be their first time to start together in the backcourt since Monday. That game was a 30-point blowout at Oklahoma City, in which the Rockets set a franchise record for 3-pointers.
Wall is listed as questionable with back spasms, but he played through the issue Thursday, and head coach Stephen Silas said postgame that Wall had told him he was fine. If for any reason that changes and Wall is unable to go, sixth man Eric Gordon would start in his place.
The lines, courtesy of BetMGM
Point spread
: Rockets -1.5 (-110), Spurs +1.5 (-110)Moneyline: Rockets -120/Spurs +100Over-under: 222.5 (-110 O, -110 U)Player O/U Scoring Props: Victor Oladipo 22.5 (+100 O, -130 U), DeMarcus Cousins 16.5 (-105 O, -115 U), Jae’Sean Tate 9.5 (-125 O, +100 U), PJ Tucker 5.5 (-120 O, -105 U); DeMar DeRozan 20.5 (-120 O, -105 U), Keldon Johnson 14.5 (-120 O, -105 U), Jakob Poeltl 8.5 (+105 O, -140 U)Place your legal, online sports bets in CO, IN, MI, NV, NJ, PA, TN, and WV at BetMGM.
Saturday’s projected starters for San Antonio are Dejounte Murray, Derrick White, DeMar DeRozan, Keldon Johnson and Jakoc Poeltl. Meanwhile, Houston is expected to counter with John Wall, Victor Oladipo, Jae’Sean Tate, PJ Tucker and DeMarcus Cousins.
The Spurs have a long injury report of their own, with LaMarcus Aldridge (hip flexor) and Lonnie Walker IV (stomach illness) each listed as out. Dejounte Murray is questionable with a sore left ankle. For the Rockets, defensive ace David Nwaba (left ankle sprain) is also questionable.
The Rockets and Spurs split a pair of games in San Antonio last month, but Houston was severely short-handed at the time: Wall, Oladipo and sixth man Eric Gordon were unavailable. This time, the Rockets enter with seven wins in their last eight games, while the Spurs are 4-4 over that same span. With a win on Saturday night, Houston would jump San Antonio in the tightly packed Southwest Division race.
Online Gambling Rocket
Advice and prediction
The Rockets are 9-4 when John Wall plays this season compared to 2-6 when he sits. Moreover, they are 7-0 when he plays without James Harden. Assuming the five-time All-Star plays through the back spasms, that’s one source of optimism as the Rockets begin what they hope is a brief era without their star big man in Wood.
Despite being a half-game worse in record going into Saturday, the Rockets (11-10) look like the better team on paper. Houston ranks No. 8 overall in net rating, as compared to No. 18 for the Spurs (12-10). In the last eight games, there’s even more of a disparity, with the Rockets ranking No. 2 in the NBA and San Antonio at No. 23 overall.
Some of that gap should shrink given the absence of Wood, who was having an All-Star caliber season. But with a home game and Houston getting a day of rest beforehand, there’s reason to believe Wall and the defensively stout Rockets can grind out another victory — and perhaps another under with the cumulative points total.
Prediction: 112-105, Rockets
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The Orlando Magic (6-2) visit the Houston Rockets (2-4) Friday at Toyota Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET. Below, we analyze the Magic-Rockets NBA betting odds and lines, with picks and predictions.
Orlando has won back-to-back games entering Friday’s contest. Both were played in Cleveland against the Cavaliers with the first coming by a 20-point margin (103-83 Jan. 4) and the latter decided by 11 points (105-94 Jan. 6). The Magic suffered a big loss in the latest victory over the Cavs with starting PG Markelle Fultz suffering a season-ending torn ACL.
The Rockets have lost back-to-back games albeit to quality teams in the Dallas Mavericks (113-100 Jan. 4) and the Pacers (114-107 Jan. 6). Houston failed to cover the spread in both games. The Rockets’ issue seems to be a lack of offensive continuity as they have three players averaging over 23 points per game (G James Harden, PG John Wall and C Christian Wood) and SG Eric Gordon bringing in another 19.5 points per off the bench. Still, they rank only 18th in offensive rating and have the fewest assists per game in the NBA.
These teams split the two-game season series last year and both games were blowouts: Houston (-6.5) won 130-107 at Orlando in Dec. 2019, and the Magic (+7.5) won at Houston in March 2020.
Magic at Rockets: Betting odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 10:20 a.m. ET.
Money line: Magic +190 (bet $100 to win $190) | Rockets -240 (bet $240 to win $100)Against the spread/ATS: Magic +6.5 (-120) | Rockets -6.5 (+100)Over/Under: 225.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)Rocket Gambling Game Reddit
Magic at Rockets: Key Injuries
Magic
SG Evan Fournier (back) questionablePG Markelle Fultz (knee) outPG Michael Carter-Williams (foot) outPF Al-Farouq Aminu (knee) outRockets
C Christian Wood (knee) questionableSF Danuel House (back) outSpecial NBA Betting Promotion!
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Magic at Rockets: Odds, betting lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
Rockets 118, Magic 104
Money line (ML)
PASS ON THE MONEY LINE. Houston is the right side but no way would I recommend betting the Rockets (-240) to win straight up. The juice is too high for a team as out of sync as the Rockets.
Rocket Betting Game
Against the spread (ATS)
As much as I hate laying this many points, I have to take the Rockets given the Magic’s injury situation. Not only is rookie PG Cole Anthony replacing Fultz but the other backup PG in Carter-Williams is out and Fournier is dealing with a back issue.
Houston’s three-headed monster in the backcourt—Harden, Wall and Gordon—have to be able to feast in this matchup. If the Rockets don’t win and cover vs. the Magic it’s time to pump the breaks on betting them until further notice. Houston is just not clicking well enough offensively to bet this game heavy but I can put 1 unit on ROCKETS -6.5 (+100).
Over/Under (O/U)
BET UNDER 225.5 (-110) since the market is hammering the Under. According to Pregame.com, this total opened at 230.5 but more than 80% of the money is on the Under so the total has been dragged down. We are getting to the party a little late so I’d probably put less on my total bet compared to the spread.
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Also see:
Rockets injury updates: Danuel House Jr. still out; Christian Wood questionable (Rockets Wire)‘He’s built for this’: Magic confident Cole Anthony can step in for Fultz (Rookie Wire)Follow Geoff Clark on Twitter. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
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