Houston Rockets vs Memphis Grizzlies 1/14/20 NBA Betting Odds and Preview

The Houston Rockets travel to the FedEx Forum to test the streaking Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday night.

The Rockets are well-rested and have not played since Saturday’s 30-point win over the Memphis Grizzlies. Houston has won four out of their last five games and they remain 2.5 games up on the Dallas Mavericks in the Southwest Division team standings. Meanwhile, the Grizzlies have won five in a row including the last three at home. The Grizzlies are looking to stay perfect during this current six-game homestand as they climb closer to the .500 mark.

Easy Win Over Wolves

After an emotional loss to the OKC Thunder last week, the Houston Rockets cruised to an easy 139-109 win over the Karl Anthony Towns-less Minnesota Timberwolves last Saturday night. The win helped improve the Southwest Division leaders to 26-12 SU on the season, 2.5 games ahead of the Dallas Mavericks.

James Harden scored 32 points in three quarters on Saturday night to pass the 20-K scoring mark for his career and become the 45th player and 7th youngest in league history to do so. But he also posted his points-rebounds-turnovers triple-double of the season and his sixth game with at least 30 points and 10 turnovers.

Houston is the highest-scoring team in the league at 119.2 points per game this season. They are the 5th best rebounding team this year at 47.5 boards hauled per contest and are also 26th in passing at 21.6 dimes per contest. The Rockets are 22nd in scoring defense as they are giving up an average of 113.7 points per game.

Five Straight Wins

The Memphis Grizzlies have posted five straight wins and they have moved to four games below the .500 mark at 18-22 SU on the season. Memphis is currently on a six-game homestand and they have opened with three straight wins. In their last game, the Grizzlies manhandled the injury-riddled Golden State Warriors 122-102.

Jonas Valanciunas scored a season-high 31 points and grabbed 19 rebounds to lead the Grizzlies against the former champions. Rookie sensation Ja Morant only had 11 points on 4-12 shooting but he had 10 assists. Jaren Jackson scored 21 points and blocked two shots while Brandon Clarke had 9 points and 11 rebounds off the bench.

Memphis ranks 8th overall in scoring at 113.4 points per game. They are the 14th ranked rebounding team in the league at 45.7 boards grabbed per contest and are the top passing team in the NBA at 27.9 assists per game. The Grizzlies are 4th from the bottom when it comes to scoring defense as they allow opponents to score an average of 116.1 points per game this season.

Who Wins?

Houston is 4-1 SU in their last five games played. The Rockets are 3-3 SU in their last six games played on the road, and 6-3 SU in their last nine games played against the Western Conference. Memphis is 5-0 SU in their last five games played. The Grizzlies are 4-1 SU in their last five games played at home, and 5-0 SU in their last five games played against the Western Conference. Head to head, the Rockets are 7-3 SU in their last 10 games played against the Grizzlies.

The Rockets stormed back with a 30-point win over the Timberwolves after losing to the Thunder in Westbrook’s emotional return to OKC. Houston has won four out of their last five games played with three of those wins coming via a double-digit winning margin. The Rockets will rest Westbrook here while Capela is listed as probable with a heel injury.

Memphis has put up five consecutive victories and they have won each game by at least seven points. However, four of those wins have come against teams with losing record and their win over the Clippers stands as their best win during that streak. Ja Morant has been spectacular for Memphis and they will look to the young man again for another solid outing.

The Rockets are a solid 12-8 SU on the road this season while Memphis is 10-12 SU at home this year. Houston defeated Memphis at this same venue, 107-100 last November 4, 2019, in their first meeting of the year. The Rockets will be without Russ but with Harden playing at full strength, I don’t think Memphis has the defense to slow him down.

Prediction: Houston Rockets

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Other Bets to Make

The Rockets are 6-4 ATS in their last 10 games played. Houston is 2-4 ATS in their last six games played on the road. The Grizzlies are 5-0 ATS in their last five games played. Memphis is 4-1 ATS in their last five games played at home. Head to head, the Rockets are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games played against the Grizzlies. Houston is also 4-2 ATS in their last six road games against Memphis.

The Rockets have outscored the Grizzlies by an average of 7.4 points per game in their last 10 meetings and by 8.0 points per game in their most recent three head to head encounters. The Rockets will be resting Westbrook in this game but with a scorer like James Harden on the floor, I think the Rockets can beat a Memphis defense that is just ranked 27th in the league. I like Houston to cover the spread here.

Prediction: Rockets -5

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The under is 5-4-1 in the Rockets’ last 10 games played. The total has gone under in 12 out of the 20 road games played by Houston this season. The total has gone over in 12 out of the last 16 games played by the Grizzlies. The over is 14-8 in Memphis’ 22 home games played this season, and 6-2 in their last eight games against the Southwest Division.

These teams have combined to score an average of 221.0 points per game in their last three head to head meetings although they managed only 207.0 in their most recent encounter last November 4, 2019. The Rockets are the highest-scoring team in the league this season and their defense is spotty. The Grizzlies are in the Top 10 in scoring and the Bottom 5 in scoring defense. The Rockets have scored at least 118 points in four out of their last five games played while the Grizzlies have put up at least 119 in each game during their current five-game winning streak.

Prediction: Over 238

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