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Atlanta Hawks vs Houston Rockets 10/19/22 NBA Picks, Predictions, Odds

Houston Rockets (0-0) vs. Atlanta Hawks (0-0)
October 19, 2022 7:30 pm EDT
The Line: Atlanta Hawks -10; Over/Under: 232.5
(Get latest betting odds)

The Houston Rockets and Atlanta Hawks meet Wednesday in NBA action at the State Farm Arena. The Houston Rockets have lost each of their last 4 regular season openers. The Atlanta Hawks have won each of their last 3 regular season openers. 

The Houston Rockets won 20 games last year and enter the third year under coach Stephen Silas. The Rockets are going with the slow build of the young, raw talent and hoping these kids mature into stars eventually. Jalen Green is still the face of the Rockets and appears on that path, while Kevin Porter Jr. showed flashes last season. There’s three new young players added to the mix in Jabari Smith Jr., TyTy Washington Jr. and Tari Eason, and it will be fun to see what they bring to the table. The Rockets are extremely young, but there’s talent here, and they’re fun to watch given the offensive ability. It will take time for the Rockets to blossom into a complete team that can win consistently, but this is an NBA League Pass squad in terms of entertainment.

The Atlanta Hawks won 43 games last year and enter the third season under coach Nate McMillan. The Hawks hold onto their young talented nucleus of Trae Young, De’Andre Hunter and John Colins, but they added a key piece in shooting guard Dejounte Murray. An all star last year, Murray takes pressure off Young to do so much offensively and provides another scorer defenses have to worry about. Clint Capela is back as one of the better centers in the league, and Bogdan Bogdanovic is effective either in a starting role or off the bench. The Hawks have quality top end talent that makes them intriguing in the East, but the questionable depth is why nobody is bold enough to say they can win the conference. The Hawks are good, but time will tell just how good that actually is.

The Rockets are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 Wednesday games and 4-0 ATS in their last 4 road games. The Hawks are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games following a ATS loss and 5-1 ATS in their last 6 home games. The over is 6-1 in Rockets last 7 overall. The under is 5-0 in Hawks last 5 overall. The Rockets are 1-4 ATS in the last 5 meetings.

The Atlanta Hawks are the better team, obviously, and should be favored, especially at home. However, the Houston Rockets have the athleticism and scoring punch to give teams issues. The Rockets are raw and likely struggle on defense again, but this isn’t a bad team in terms of talent. You’re going to make money on the Rockets this season, mainly in the underdog role. Lot of points for a season opener. Give me the road dog.

Randy Chambers's Free Pick: Houston Rockets +10

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Randy Chambers

Randy has covered sports betting since 2014 and writes about everything from NFL to WNBA. Follow Randy Chambers on Twitter.

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