Rockets To Take On Bulls: Odds And Preview

Both the Houston Rockets and the Chicago Bulls are looking to return to winning ways when they collide tonight at the Toyota Center.

Houston is the -3 point favorites in this game.

The Rockets are still adjusting to being without star center Dwight Howard who is out for the foreseeable future. Howard has been dealing with knee issues all season. The Rockets, though, have won three straight in his absence until they ran into the Detroit Pistons in their last outing who took full advantage of Howard’s absence with big men Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond combined for 30 points and 28 rebounds in rout to a 114-101 loss.

In that game, the Rockets failed to cover a -4.5 point spread as favorites.

James Harden is still setting the pace for the Rockets and is, in fact, setting the pace for the entire NBA. He leads the NBA in scoring with 27 points per game on average.

The Rockets are 27-21 against the spread this season. They are 4-1 straight up in their last five games. Houston are 6-1 at home and against the spread.

Chicago’s front line made up of the duo of Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah should give Houston plenty of trouble in with Howard being out.

Last time out, Chicago lost 99-93 against the Phoenix Suns. The Bulls covered the 7-point spread as underdogs.

The Bulls are 22-27 against the spread this season. They have covered in four of their last six games.

The total is set at 204 points. In their last game Chicago hit the UNDER. The Rockets hit the OVER in their last outing. The total has gone over in eight of their last 11 games. The Bulls have sent UNDER bettors to the window in five of their last seven games.