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A winless road team takes on an undefeated home team on Friday night when the Houston Rockets (9-9, 11-5-2 ATS) travel to take on the Denver Nuggets (14-8, 8-13-1 ATS). Houston is 0-8 in road games, while Denver is 9-0 at home. The Rockets are coming off a 110-101 home win over the Thunder, winning outright as 1.5-point underdogs. The Nuggets just lost on the road to the Clippers, going down 111-102 as half point underdogs. This is already the fourth matchup between these two teams, as every home team has won with the Rockets having the 2-1 lead in the series. Tipoff is scheduled for 9:00 EST from the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado.
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The Houston Rockets currently sit at 10th in the Western Conference, and snapped out of a recent three game losing streak. The Western Conference can be brutal at times, as none of the losses were unexpected coming against the Mavericks, Nuggets and Lakers. The Rockets won their first game back at home by defeating the Thunder by nine, Houston started the game getting out to a 32-22 lead in the first quarter, and never relinquished the lead. The Rockets were led by Dillon Brooks with 23 points in the game, while Jabari Smith Jr. grabbed an impressive 18 rebounds.
The Rockets are led in scoring by their young center Alperen Sengun with 21.0 PPG, and he also leads in rebounding with 9.0 per game. Sengun has scored 20 or more in his last five games, including a 31 point game against the Mavericks. The Rockets have stuck with the same starting lineup all season. Jalen Green (18.8 PPG) and Dillon Brooks (13.8 PPG) start on the wing, Fred Van Vleet (16.2 PPG) runs the point and Jabari Smith Jr. (12.9 PPG) starts at power forward. The Rockets have a young core to build on, and if Sengun, Green and Smith Jr. can continue to improve Houston has a chance to make playoffs in the stacked Western Conference.
The starters all average double figures, but the top scorer on the bench is Aaron Holiday with just 7.4 PPG. The second unit also features heavy doses of forwards Tari Eason and Jeff Green. Houston ranks 20th in offensive efficiency and 7th in defensive efficiency according to dunksandthrees.com. The young Rockets play surprisingly slow on offense, they use coach Ime Udoka's offensive sets and take their time to find a good shot. The Rockets rank 28th in the league in tempo.
Injury Report:
Day-to-Day: Jeff Green, Jock Landale
Out: Amen Thompson, Victor Oladipo