Los Angeles Lakers vs. Houston Rockets – 9/12/20 NBA Pick, Odds, and Prediction

The Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers meet Saturday in game five of NBA playoff action at the AdventHealth Arena.    

The Houston Rockets need a victory here to save their season and force a game six on Monday. The Houston Rockets are averaging 108.7 points on 44.3 percent shooting and allowing 105.8 points on 45.7 percent shooting. James Harden is averaging 29.5 points and 7.9 assists while Russell Westbrook is averaging 19 points and 7.4 rebounds. Eric Gordon is the third double-digit scorer and Robert Covington is grabbing 5.3 rebounds. The Houston Rockets are shooting 37.1 percent from beyond the arc and 79.8 percent from the free thitem line. The Houston Rockets are allowing 33.1 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 39.5 rebounds per game.

The Los Angeles Lakers can advance to their first conference final since 2009-10 with a victory here. The Los Angeles Lakers are averaging 113.6 points on 49.4 percent shooting and allowing 106.2 points on 44 percent shooting. Anthony Davis is averaging 29.2 points and 10.9 rebounds while LeBron James is averaging 26.3 points and nine assists. Rajon Rondo is the third double-digit scorer and Kyle Kuzma is grabbing 3.7 rebounds. The Los Angeles Lakers are shooting 34 percent from beyond the arc and 72.2 percent from the free thitem line. The Los Angeles Lakers are allowing 39 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 46.6 rebounds per game.

The Rockets are 1-7 ATS in their last 8 games playing on 1 days rest, 1-4 ATS in their last 5 Conference Semifinals games and 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games overall. The Lakers are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 games playing on 1 days rest, 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games as a favorite and 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games overall. The under is 6-1 in Rockets last 7 overall. The Rockets are 10-4 ATS in the last 14 meetings in Los Angeles. The under is 5-1 in the last 6 meetings.

The Houston Rockets headed into this series with matchup advantages and a chance to win this thing on paper, but they’re simply not playing well and often look like they don’t want to be on the court. The Rockets made a strong push to make game four competitive late, but they lacked that energy through the first three and a half quarters. Harden is coming off a game where he made just two field goals and Westbrook continues to give the Rockets one good play and three bad ones. Meanwhile, the Lakers keep getting big performances from the most random players. It feels like the writing is on the wall for the Rockets, as they bow out gracefully and prepare themselves for a major breakup. 

The Rockets leave me no choice but to lay the chalk with the Lakers.