Utah Jazz vs. Houston Rockets 5/2/18, Prediction & Odds

Jazz vs. Rockets Prediction

The Houston Rockets did not mess around in Game 1 as they rolled to a home win as a double-digit favorite against the Utah Jazz. Favored heavily again tonight, will Houston have the same success for a second game in a row?

Game Snapshot

507 Utah Jazz at 508 Houston Rockets

Wednesday, May 2, 2018

Toyota Center at 8PM ET

TV: TNT

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Public Betting Information

According to oddsmakers at YouWager, the Rockets are an 11-point favorite to win on the spread line. The over-under is set at 206 points. As of Wednesday afternoon, 59 percent of public bets are coming in on host Houston. Check out our NBA Public Betting Page for up-to-date info.

Harden dominates in Game 1

Rockets shooting guard James Harden shined in the series opener as he poured in 41 points while adding eight rebounds and seven assists. He shot 12-of-26 from the floor including 7-of-12 from 3-point range. Harden was also 10-of-11 from the free throw line. Harden averaged an even 30 points per game during the regular season and with the 41-point effort he is now at 30.4 in the postseason. Center Clint Capela also had a very strong Game 1 with a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds. Houston led 64-39 at halftime before pulling off the accelerator in the second half.

Crowder strong again off bench

Despite the game getting out of hand, small forward Jae Crowder turned in another strong game off the bench as he scored 21 points to tie rookie Donovan Mitchell for the team lead in that category. He shot 8-of-13 from the floor as he connected on 5-of-7 from 3-point land while also recording five rebounds and two steals. Crowder also had a 27-point performance as a reserve in the series against Oklahoma City as Jazz head coach Quinn Snyder trusts him as a player who can do a little bit of everything.

NBA Betting Trends

Utah

The Jazz is 1-4 ATS in their last five road games. Utah is 0-5 ATS in the last five meetings.

Houston

The Rockets are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 meetings vs. the Jazz in Houston. The over is 4-1 in the last five meetings in Houston.

Prediction:

It's hard to pick against the Rockets with the success they have had recently against Utah, but I'm going to do it here. An 11-point spread is difficult to cover no matter who you are and it looked like the Jazz figured some things out in the second half even if Houston did let up a little bit. I'm content with betting on a talented Utah team where I can still win if it loses by 10 points.

NBA DAILY PREDICTION: UTAH JAZZ +11

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