There was some talk that LeBron James might head to Houston and play for the Rockets this season as a free agent. Talk was all it was as James likely was always headed to Los Angeles. He brings his Lakers to Houston for the first time Thursday night in a national TV game, and they come in as the NBA Betting underdogs at MyBookie Sportsbook.
The Rockets shook it up in starting Gordon over Ennis and scored a season-high number of points in the paint, and saw their bench, which is the lowest scoring one in the league at 28.2 points per game, come through with 37 points.
Ennis will miss the next 1-2 weeks of action with a Grade-1 right hamstring strain suffered in the win. This is the second time this season that Ennis will be recovering from a right hamstring injury, so the Rockets will likely take their time bringing him back. Brandon Knight (knee) is probable for Thursday against the Lakers. Knight hasn’t played in an NBA game since Feb. 15, 2017.
Houston has won six of its past seven home games after losing the first four. The Rockets are 6-5 at home overall this season. Houston was 4-3 over its first seven home games last season but finished 34-7. The Rockets have won 30+ home games in four of the past five seasons after doing so four times the 22 seasons prior.
How to Bet Lakers vs Rockets NBA Odds & Game Info
🎥 Kyle Kuzma his recent hot streak and how defense has lead to wins for the Lakers pic.twitter.com/fcaiGl135W
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) 12 de diciembre de 2018
- When: Thursday, 8 PM ET
- Where: Toyota Center, Houston
- TV: TNT
- Live Stream: NBA League Pass
- Radio: TuneIn
- NBA Odds: Houston Rockets -5.5 (Total 221.5)
Team Records
- All: Los Angeles Lakers 17-10 / Houston Rockets 12-14
- Home: Los Angeles Lakers 11-4 / Houston Rockets 6-5
- Away: Los Angeles Lakers 6-6 / Houston Rockets 6-9
- ATS: Los Angeles Lakers 12-15 / Houston Rockets 10-16
- Over/Under: Los Angeles Lakers 9-17-1 / Houston Rockets 14-12
Season Series
LeBron James’ home Lakers debut was on Oct. 20 vs. Houston and the Rockets prevailed 124-115. James scored 24 points, but Chris Paul, Brandon Ingram, and Rajon Rondo all were ejected after trading blows late in the game. All three would get multiple-game suspensions. When tempers cooled after a nearly 10-minute break, Houston finished the game on a 15-8 run. James Harden hit a key 3-pointer with 1:12 left. He led Houston with 36 points. Paul had 28 points, 10 assists, and seven rebounds before getting tossed. Clint Capela had 19 points and 12 rebounds. Houston has won 19 of the past 25 meetings after losing 15 of the previous 21 games Since winning 2 of 3 in Houston from 11/7/13-11/19/14, Lakers have lost 5 of the past 6 there. Over the past five meetings, the Rockets are outscoring the Lakers 122.2 ppg to 114.6. The two teams have met 217 times overall, with the Lakers holding a 136-81 series advantage. L.A. leads the series 114-75 since the Rockets moved to Houston. In Houston, the Lakers are 11-14 all-time at Toyota Center.Why Bet on LA Lakers?
The Lakers remain without both the injured Ingram and Rondo so there shouldn’t be any issues Thursday. Brandon Ingram (ankle) is not traveling with the team to Houston to start a four-game road trip. He is set to be re-evaluated on Saturday, and if all goes well he could re-join the team later that day for the game in Charlotte. Ingram has been out for one week already and it’s been Josh Hart, Kyle Kuzma, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope picking up some extra minutes. Rondo (hand) will see a hand specialist on Thursday. He didn’t travel to Houston, and Rondo is expected to miss the entire upcoming four-game road trip. We could see a trade between the Rockets and Lakers very soon as Houston is interested in acquiring Caldwell-Pope. The Lakers and Suns are trying to execute a three-team deal to get Trevor Ariza to Los Angeles, and the Rockets are interested in being that third team. None of those guys can be traded until Saturday because they all signed as free agents. The Lakers enter having gone 15-5 in their past 20. They beat Miami 108-104 on Monday. LeBron had 28 points, nine rebounds, 12 assists, a steal, and four 3-pointers. Kuzma had 33 points, seven rebounds and three 3-pointers on 14-of-22 shooting. He’s averaging 25 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 0.8 steals, 0.6 blocks and 3.0 3-pointers on 53 percent shooting over his last five games.Why Bet on Houston?
The Rockets snapped a three-game skid with a 111-104 win over Portland on Tuesday. James Harden had 29 points and seven Rockets scored in double-figures. Chris Paul added a triple-double with 11 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists. Clint Capela had 13 points and seven rebounds before fouling out with five minutes left, and Eric Gordon, who started in place of James Ennis, had 14 points for the Rockets, who shot 49 percent from the field. Houston used a 25-5 run to end the third and start the fourth quarters, and opened a 100-83 lead on 3-pointer by Harden with 6:48 left.
The Rockets shook it up in starting Gordon over Ennis and scored a season-high number of points in the paint, and saw their bench, which is the lowest scoring one in the league at 28.2 points per game, come through with 37 points.
Ennis will miss the next 1-2 weeks of action with a Grade-1 right hamstring strain suffered in the win. This is the second time this season that Ennis will be recovering from a right hamstring injury, so the Rockets will likely take their time bringing him back. Brandon Knight (knee) is probable for Thursday against the Lakers. Knight hasn’t played in an NBA game since Feb. 15, 2017.
Houston has won six of its past seven home games after losing the first four. The Rockets are 6-5 at home overall this season. Houston was 4-3 over its first seven home games last season but finished 34-7. The Rockets have won 30+ home games in four of the past five seasons after doing so four times the 22 seasons prior.
Lakers vs Rockets NBA Betting Trends
- Over is 8-2 in the last 10 meetings
- Favorite is 17-6 ATS in the last 23 meetings
- Lakers are 5-12 ATS in the last 17 meetings in Houston
- Lakers are 5-13 ATS in the last 18 meetings
- Road team is 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings
- LA is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 10 of LA Lakers’s last 12 games
- Houston is 3-7 SU in its last 10 games
- The total has gone OVER in 8 of Houston’s last 12 games
