Orlando Magic at Houston Rockets 1/8/21: NBA Basketball free preview, analysis, prediction, odds and pick against the spread.
2021-01-08 20:00:00 EDT
The Orlando Magic and Houston Rockets meet Friday in NBA action at the Toyota Center.
The Orlando Magic look for a statement win to build on their 6-2 record. The Orlando Magic are averaging 110 points on 44.4 percent shooting and allowing 106 points on 46.4 percent shooting. Nikola Vucevic is averaging 21 points and 10.5 rebounds while Terrence Ross is averaging 20.7 points and 1.1 assists. Evan Fournier is the third double-digit scorer and Aaron Gordon is grabbing 7.1 rebounds. The Orlando Magic are shooting 34.5 percent from beyond the arc and 81.9 percent from the free thitem line. The Orlando Magic are allowing 32.3 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 48.3 rebounds per game.
The Houston Rockets look for a win after splitting their last four games. The Houston Rockets are averaging 111.3 points on 47 percent shooting and allowing 115.3 points on 46.5 percent shooting. James Harden is averaging 29.4 points and 11 assists while Christian Wood is averaging 23.6 points and 1.6 assists. John Wall is the third double-digit scorer and Eric Gordon is grabbing 2.8 rebounds. The Houston Rockets are shooting 32.6 percent from beyond the arc and 77.6 percent from the free thitem line. The Houston Rockets are allowing 39.2 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 41.2 rebounds per game.
The Magic are 13-3-1 ATS in their last 17 road games and 6-2-1 ATS in their last 9 games overall. The Rockets are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 home games and 2-8 ATS in their last 10 games overall. The over is 24-9 in Magic last 33 overall. The under is 10-4 in Rockets last 14 overall. The Magic are 8-2 ATS in the last 10 meetings in Houston and 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings.
The Orlando Magic are off to a solid start this season, but I still don’t believe in their offense and the recent injury to Markelle Fultz isn’t going to help matters. The Houston Rockets have been hit or miss all season long, but they’re about as healthy as they’ve been and still having Harden around gives them a fighting chance each night. The Rockets aren’t as appealing as their roster would suggest, but at home and with a key Magic player out for the year, I’ll lay the reasonable number with Houston.
