Houston Rockets vs Utah Jazz 1/5/23 NBA Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Utah Jazz and the Houston Rockets duke it out at the Toyota Center on Thursday night.

The Utah Jazz have been in a real slump as they’ve lost seven of their past nine games and they will be hoping to put an end to a five-game slide after falling just short to the Kings in a 117-115 loss on Tuesday. Lauri Markkanen led the team with 28 points and eight rebounds, Jordan Clarkson added 24 points on nine of 17 shooting while Mike Conley chipped in with 18 points and seven assists. As a team, the Jazz shot 43 percent from the field and 13 of 44 from the 3-point line as they poured in 38 points in the third quarter to overcome an early 14-point deficit, only to see the Kings use a 13-4 run to snatch the game from them in a close finish. Rudy Gay had a rough game as he finished scoreless on zero of five shooting while Kelly Olynyk scored just five points on two of seven shooting.

Meanwhile, the Houston Rockets have been in a major slump as they’ve lost 10 of their last 11 games and they will be hoping to arrest a five-game skid after falling short against the Pelicans in a 119-108 road loss last night. Jalen Green and Kenyon Martin Jr each scored 16 points, Jabari Smith Jr added 14 points with 13 rebounds while Eric Gordon chipped in with 13 points. As a team, the Rockets shot 44 percent from the field and 12 of 38 from the 3-point line, but they weren’t switched on defensively and got torched by 45 points in the first quarter to have them trailing big from the start. The Rockets did rally with 35 points in the fourth quarter to keep the final scores respectable, but they trailed by as many as 31 points in this one.

 Looking at the betting trends, the Jazz are 2-5 ATS in their last seven games against a team with a losing record and 1-4 ATS in their last five games overall. The Rockets are 1-4 ATS in their last five games against a team with a losing record and 6-2-1 ATS in their last nine home games against a team with a losing road record.

Head to head, the under is 11-4 in the last 15 meetings overall and the Jazz are 1-4 ATS in the last five meetings overall.

The Jazz are going to be a little shorthanded again as they are still without Collin Sexton and they haven’t been able to build any momentum over the past three weeks, so I’m actually thinking that this could be a good spot for the Rockets to spring an upset if they can get off to a good start. The Jazz have the superior lineup with more talent, but they are only 1-4 ATS in the last five meetings overall and they are only 7-14 on the road for the season. This is definitely a game I have little interest in, but if I had to pick a team, I’d lean towards the Rockets to pull off the upset at home.