Houston Rockets vs. Atlanta Hawks: 3 Best Bets
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The Houston Rockets host Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks tonight, with tipoff scheduled for. 7:00 pm. Houston has lost two straight games, most recently to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who also handed the Hawks their most recent loss, but a Monday matchup against the Detroit Pistons secured a win for Atlanta.
The loss to Cleveland was Jalen Green’s fifth straight game scoring under 20 points, and his 16-of-57 shooting performance in that stretch is drawing legitimate concerns about his value to the team. Houston is 3-2 in the last five games, so they can clearly win without him.
Green will have to match up with elite defender Dejounte Murray, who poses a challenge. Green will likely extend his poor offensive streak to six games.
On a positive note, Dillon Brooks seems to have found the shot that has been eluding him. After starting the season red-hot, he fell back to Earth but has recently picked it back up, shooting 40 percent from deep in the last three games.
The Rockets have Amen Thompson listed as questionable and Victor Oladipo remains out. Atlanta has a much more hefty injury report, with Kobe Bufkin, Jalen Johnson, and AJ Griffin all listed out. Check out our three best bets for the game below, courtesy of the lines at SI Sportsbook.
Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. is fouled by Atlanta Hawks forward De'Andre Hunter in the first quarter at Toyota Center.
Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports
The Lines
Point spread: Hawks +3.5 (-110)/Rockets -3.5 (-110)
Moneyline: Hawks (+125)/Rockets (-154)
Over/under: 233.5
Our Picks
Safe pick: Jalen Green UNDER 17.5 points (-118)
Not the bet that fans wanted to see, but Green hasn’t gone over 17.5 points since December 8. He is shooting 29 percent from deep, and he is getting fewer looks than earlier in the season. Not only is his confidence shot, but Ime Udoka has no issue benching him for stretches and his teammates don’t trust him to hoist up shots. Dejounte Murray has no issue making life difficult for young opponents and rubbing it in their faces, so this could be the game where Green spends the majority of it riding the pine.
Opponent pick: Trae Young OVER 3.5 threes made (-150)
Trae Young averages 3.4 threes per game on 38 percent shooting, and he has been even hotter than that recently. Sure, his last outing (four threes made) was against Detroit, so it hardly counts as an NBA game, but across his last ten games, he is making over four threes and shooting nearly 40 percent. Houston has the best three-point defense in the league, but the line is just low enough that Young should hit the over.
Team pick: OVER 233.5 (-118)
Houston allowed a season-high 135 points in their last game, and Atlanta has the third-worst defense in the league and the third-best offense. Houston isn’t exactly a high-scoring team, but recent performances from Alperen Sengun and Brooks suggest that Houston can stuff the stat sheet tonight. As for the Hawks, their fast-paced, high-powered offense poses a challenge for Houston. The Rockets might come out on top, but it will be a hard-fought, high-scoring affair.
