Basketball betting heavily favors Houston on Saturday as they host the New Jersey Nets. It is the last game of a five-game road trip for the Nets and the first game of a four-game homestand for the Rockets. New Jersey has had very little NBA betting success against the Rockets recently, losing eight of the last 10 against the spread. Basketball betting has seen Houston win 9 of the last 10 straight up against the Nets and they are 8-2 against the NBA betting line. The teams played earlier this season in New Jersey and the Rockets won 98-93 but did not cover the 6.5 point basketball betting line. That was a rare occasion when the New Jersey Nets actually covered against Houston as they had lost the previous six games. In that game the Rockets needed a 28-point fourth quarter to pull out the win. Aaron Brooks and Luis Scola each had 17 points to lead the Rockets.
New Jersey is the worst team in the NBA but they have been competitive on the road vs. the basketball betting line. In fact, the Nets have been better on the road than at home vs. the number. That doesn’t mean they have a winning record though. It just means they have a better chance of covering on the road since they are getting so many points. The Nets are not without talent as they have Brook Lopez, Devin Harris and sometimes Courtney Lee will show up with a big game. New Jersey is a bad team though and taking them in basketball betting means you are hoping they somehow get a backdoor cover since they are very unlikely to win the game straight up.
Houston has a winning record straight up but they have a losing record against the spread. They are just 14-17 vs. the number in home games. Kevin Martin has been a nice addition for the Rockets and they should be an even better team next year when Yao Ming comes back. This season they are just playing to finish above .500 since they don’t have much of a chance to catch Portland for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Rockets are 13th in the league in offense and 19th on defense and those numbers should be enough to handle a New Jersey team that has not even won 10 games yet this season.