2019 NBA Preview, Odds, And Prediction: Houston Rockets vs Philadelphia 76ers

James Harden looked fine when he came back from his first absence of the season as he scorched the nets anew to score 35 points to lead the Rockets to a convincing 130-104 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday. The 2018 NBA MVP missed Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans which the Rockets lost, 127-112, as he was nursing a toe injury.

Harden will put it to test for a second straight game as the Rockets look to pounce on a slumping Philadelphia 76ers on Friday at home inside the Toyota Center.

The Sixers have now lost three in a row after shocking Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks on Christmas Day. After suffering back-to-back heartbreaking losses to the Magic and Heat where they lost by just a hairline in both games, Philly got trounced by the Pacers next, 115-97.

The absence of Joel Embiid certainly played a huge factor in the Sixers' embarrassing loss against Indiana. The All-Star center is bugged by a knee injury and his status for Friday’s game remains uncertain. He has scored 20-plus points in each of his 10 games played and notched double-double outings nine times during the stretch. His consistent showing in that span made him average 27 points and 12.4 boards.

Sixers’ starting forward Tobias Harris has hit a shooting dry spell. He averaged just 10.5 points over his last two games after he lorded over 27 points in each of the three games prior to the slump.

Isaiah Hartenstein looks to continue with his role as Houston’s X-Factor. On back-to-back games, he averaged 17.5 points, not to mention a double-double performance against the Pelicans where he also grabbed 12 rebounds.

Odds and Trends:

The Rockets are pegged as -4.5 favorites in this game. The total line is priced pick’em at O/U 223.5.

As the Sixers struggle to win straight-up, their record against the spread suffered as well. They are 0-3-1 in their last 4 Friday games and 0-3-1 ATS in their last 4 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.

The Rockets will surely attack the jugular of the spread. Hot trends lead to Houston winning the ATS specified categories. They are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600 and 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games vs. a team with a winning straight up record.

Trends on totals reveal the OVER selection as a constant wise choice for Philly, while it is UNDER for Houston. OVER prevailed 5-0 in 76ers’ last 5 games following an ATS loss as it has been 6-1 UNDER in Rockets’ last 7 games after scoring more than 125 points in their previous game.

Prediction:

Straight-up: Rockets

ATS: Rockets

Totals: Over