Rockets Versus Celtics Preview
It is becoming pretty clear that the Boston Celtics are going to struggle, at least they have been for the early part of this season.
They currently sit with a win percentage well below .500, but they are tied for second place with three other teams, Toronto and New York. Â They only sit .5 games behind the first place Philadelphia 76ers, despite a .346 win percentage. How is this possible? They are playing in a division where no team is posting above .417. They can still end up on top of their division.
Meanwhile, the Houston Rockets are trying to establish themselves as one of the best teams in the NBA. They are 7-4. However, they share a division with the San Antonio Spurs who are 9-1. If the trend continues the Rockets may continue to live in the shadow of their Southwest Division rivals much like they did last year. The Rockets do not want that.
The Rockets will be looking to curb the trend by winning their fourth game of five against the Boston Celtics.
Intentionally fouling Dwight Howard so he misses at the free throw line has become a go-to strategy for many teams this season. Â The Celtics may hesitate when using this strategy. In their last game against the Denver Nuggets, Howard went 17 for 24 at the foul line. He finished with 25 points, as a key player in the Rockets victory.
Historically, Howard has not been a good free throw shooter. Â Overall, he misses roughly half his free throw attempts. Consequently, he leads the NBA at free-throw attempts with 128. How he shoots from the line tonight may determine this game.
The Celtics will be looking to end a three game losing streak. Boston will look to get back to moving the ball around in this game. They started the season with a four game win streak in which they averaged 23.3 assists per game. Â During this rut they have only picked up 15.3 assists a game.
The Rockets are favored to win this game with a -10 point spread. The game starts at 8 p.m. ET.
All odds courtesy of Bovada.
