Houston Rockets vs Utah Jazz Prediction, Picks and Player Props January 5
Houston Rockets vs Utah Jazz Betting Preview
WagerTalk NBA handicapper Andy Lang offers his predictions and player prop picks for tonight’s Houston Rockets vs Utah Jazz clash from the Toyota Center. Something has to give as both the Rockets and Jazz have lost five straight games.
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Houston Rockets vs Utah Jazz Betting Odds
| Thursday, January 5 | NBA Betting Notes, Courtesy of Caesars |
|---|---|
| Point Spread: | Houston Rockets +6.5 vs Utah Jazz |
| Total: | 232 Points |
| Arena: | Toyota Center in Houston, TX |
| Game Time: | 8:00pm ET / 5:00pm PT |
| TV: | AT&T SportsNet Southwest |
Houston Rockets vs Utah Jazz Betting Analysis
The Utah Jazz travel to Houston for a Western Conference tilt with the Rockets on Thursday night. The Rockets lost their 5th straight game 119-108 on the road against the New Orleans Pelicans last night.
The Jazz also lost their 5th straight game on Tuesday in a 117-115 home loss against the Sacramento Kings. This will be the third and final game of the regular season series between these two teams.
They split back-to-back games in October with the home team prevailing in each game, Utah won 109-101 and Houston won 114-108. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PST from the Toyota Center in Houston.
Rockets Need To Takeoff
The Houston Rockets fell to 10-28 on the season after losing their 5th straight game on Wednesday against New Orleans. The Pelicans dominated the glass with a 51-43 rebounding advantage.
Jalen Green led the team in scoring with 16 points, going only 5-15 from the field. Kenyon Martin Jr also chipped in with 16 points off the bench while Jabari Smith recorded a 14 point, 13 rebound double-double.
The Rockets sit a dead last in defensive rating and rank 20th in defensive scoring with 115.8 points allowed per game. They aren’t much better offensively where they rank 29th in scoring with only 109 points per game. Houston sports a completely clean injury report, a breath of fresh air nowadays.
Jazz Out Of Tune
The Utah Jazz record dipped to 19-21 on the season after losing their 5th straight game on Tuesday against the Kings. Sacramento had a tremendous shooting advantage as they went 46-86 53.5% compared to the Jazz going only 38-88 43.2%.
Lauri Markkanen led the team in scoring with 28 points along with 8 rebounds. Jordan Clarkson added 24 points while Mike Conley chipped in with 18 points.
Utah is one of the best offenses in the league as they rank 4th with 117.2 points a game on 47% from the field.
The Jazz aren’t much better than Houston defensively as they sit at 27th in defensive rating and 23rd in scoring with 116.6 points allowed per game. Colin Sexton is the only player on the Utah injury report, he will be sidelined for at least a week with a hamstring strain.
Houston Rockets vs Utah Jazz Player Prop Prediction
The Utah Jazz are 6.5 point road favorites with a total set at 231. These two teams were considered front-runners for the “tank for Wembanyama” sweepstakes as the season began.
The Jazz played above their heads for the first month and a half of the season but have come crashing back down to earth. The Rockets are a tried and true 10-28 on the season and both sides have lost five straight games.
Whenever I see a Jazz game my immediate thought is that they allow the MOST points in the paint, so look towards the other sides best scorers at the rim. Over the last five games, Kevin Porter Jr has led the Rockets with 13+ drives to the hoop per game.
He has scored 22+ points in 5 of his last 8 games, only falling short against the elite defenses of the Dallas Mavericks (twice) and New Orleans Pelicans. Porter Jr has had amazing success against the Utah Jazz with 24 & 26 points against them this season.
Last night KPJ scored only 11 points with 7 of his 11 shots coming from beyond the arc. The Jazz also allow the 3rd most points to opposing shooting guards. I’m fully expecting KPJ to drive to the rim more often for easy buckets, pushing him up and over this point total against Utah for the 3rd time this season.
Prediction: Kevin Porter Jr. Over 19.5 Points -115 DraftKings
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NBA Tip-Off Show | January 5
Join Joe Raineri and a rotating panel of professional handicappers for the NBA Tip-Off Show as we preview tonight’s NBA card from a betting perspective. We’ll go well beyond the Houston Rockets vs Utah Jazz. Stay up-to-date on the latest NBA news, stats, analysis, and predictions with our panel of pro sports bettors as they offer some of their favorite NBA best bets, player props and DFS recommendations on tonight’s slate.
NBA Free Picks
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Meet the Author
Andy Lang has lived in Indianapolis his whole life, and like most people from the Hoosier State, he became fascinated with motor sports. That interest in motor sports turned into a desire to make money off the sport through fantasy contests and sports betting. Like most, he took his lumps when he first got started, but now he is one of the most respected NASCAR bettors in the industry. Andy has expanded that sports betting experience to become profitable in a number of other sports, transforming this interest from a side hobby to a major source of income.
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