Free NBA Picks and Odds: Utah Jazz @ Houston Rockets Expert Predictions – NBA Betting Preview 3/20/11: Two teams hanging on for their postseason lives will get together at the Toyota Center in Houston on Sunday. The Utah Jazz will take on the Houston Rockets. Utah and Houston are 9th and 10th in the Western Conference race respectively. The Jazz have won two straight games, while Houston is on a three game winning streak. Utah is 1 game behind Memphis for that final spot, while the Rockets are 1.5 games.
The Jazz are coming off a 15 point win over Minnesota on Wednesday, behind 40 points from D.J. Miles. The Jazz are scoring 100.3 points per game, while they rank second in the league in assists, with 23.8 per game. Utah is in jeopardy of finishing the season with their worst record in the past 10 seasons. The Jazz have strung together back-to-back SU and ATS victories after dumping Minnesota Wednesday as six-point home ‘chalk,’ 119-104. The combined 223 points soared past the 209 ½-point closing total, helping the ‘over’ improve to 8-2 the past 10 games. Utah jumped out to a 21-point halftime advantage, 71-50, and finished the contest with advantages in points in the paint (62-42) and assists (28-13). The Jazz shot a stellar 55 percent (46-of-84) from the field, and 37 percent (7-of-19) from behind the arc. All five starters reached double digits in scoring, led by small forward C.J. Miles who scored 40 points on 14-of-18 shooting. Center Al Jefferson provided 26 and 11 rebounds in the victory, while small forward Andrei Kirilenko added 15, six and six assists. The Jazz have reached 100 points in nine of 10 games and totaled 231 in winning their last two. Utah has won back-to-back games for the first time under coach Ty Corbin after losing 10 of the first 13.
Houston (36-34) opened the season by dropping 10 of 13 and lost All-Star center Yao Ming for the year in the first month. The Rockets, though, have battled back to pull within one-half game of ninth-place Utah (36-33), which sits just behind eighth-place Memphis. For Houston, their surprise win over Boston propelled them into postseason talk. In the win over the Celtics, Kevin Martin scored 25 points. Martin leads the team in scoring; with around 22.8 points per game. The Rockets are the third highest scoring team in the country with 105.4 points per game. Houston needs to finish 6-6 to tie their win total from a season ago. The Rockets cruised to an easy victory despite getting outscored in the fourth quarter, 21-12. Houston also won the rebounding battle, 44-35, while also delivering more assists, 22-19. The Rockets shot 44 percent (32-of-73) from the field, and 36 percent (8-of-22) from 3-point land. Shooting guard Kevin Martin paced the offense with 25 points, while point guard Kyle Lowry added 20 and nine assists. Power forward Patrick Patterson provided 18 and 12 in the victory, while center Chuck Hayes had 11 and 11.
The road team has won both matchups this season in the Utah-Houston series, while the ‘under’ has cashed the previous three encounters. The Jazz prevailed Jan. 8 in overtime as a one-point road underdog, 103-99, while the combined 202 points went ‘under’ the 207 ½-point closing total. The Rockets won Feb. 2 as a two-point road ‘dog, 97-96, while the combined 193 points went ‘under’ the 203-point closing total. We will consider the Utah Jazz keeping this one close as their playoff lives are on life support. Cheers!
GAME: Utah (36-33) at Houston (36-34)
TIME: 7:00 PM EST
TV: LOCAL
NBA Odds and Lines: Favorite: Houston -6.5 Total: 209.5
FREE PICK: Utah Jazz +6