Rockets vs Cavaliers

Coming off a loss that included another Alperen Sengun triple double, the Houston Rockets must now turn their attention to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

And the “comparing two players drafted back-to-back” thing is such a dumb move. Mobley’s still having a great year, by the way. The Cavs started 8-1, and Rockets fans everywhere braced for the inevitable “Evan Mobley is way better than Jalen Green” talk that permeated the first half of last season.

NBA odds, picks, and predictions for the Cleveland Cavaliers at Houston Rockets on January 26. NBA betting best bet and free pick analysis.

But they should expect a lot of open looks against a fatigued Rockets team that looks disorganized even on the best of days. The Cavs are just 4-13-2 against the spread in their last 19 road games, but the Rockets are just 5-15-1 ATS in their last 21 games overall, including a putrid 1-9 ATS in their last 10. The Rockets have simply struggled to score against any team giving a serious effort, which has seen the Under go 16-5 in their last 21 games against teams with a winning record. For their part, the Rockets give up a lot of points on back-to-backs. The Cavaliers have a ready-made philosophy and winning style of play from their previous season together that they can comfortably rely on even in the event of Mitchell’s absence. Mitchell reaggravated his nagging groin strain at the buzzer of their game on Tuesday, and while he’s listed as questionable for today’s matchup, it would seem foolhardy in the extreme by Cleveland’s medical staff to rush him back onto the court a second time. They’re only a couple of games removed from a 13-game losing streak, so to consistently underperform even the depressed expectations that come with that level of losing is kind of impressive. With the Rockets on a back-to-back, I think there’s little chance they keep this one close. 30th out of 30 with a team that has dynamic scoring guards, veteran sharpshooters like Gordon, and one of the most advanced post players in the NBA in But there are limitations to funneling your offense through a post up big like Sengun, and against the Cavaliers they might become acutely noticeable. The Turkish wunderkind is up to 23.6 points, 12.2 rebounds, and 7.2 assists in his last five games after averaging just 15.5 ppg, 9 boards, and 3 assists on the season to date. A bad defense is to be expected from one of the NBA’s youngest rosters, but the defensive talent on this team is adding up to much less than the sum of its parts.

The Cavaliers face off the Rockets! Check our NBA odds series and see our analysis of the Cavaliers-Rockets prediction and pick.

The keys for the Cavaliers to secure this win are an all-around contribution from starters and bench players, lessening their turnovers, and hunting for chances in the charity stripe. KJ Martin, Garrison Mathews, and Tari Eason are also huge off the bench, so they better make the most of their minutes as well. Allen and Mobley can match up and slow down Sengun on the post. The Rockets rank fourth in rebounding with 46.8 boards per game, as well as 25.3 free-throw attempts per contest. Sophomore Jalen Green has been heating up for the past games without KPJ, and throughout the season he has been producing 22 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 3.7 assists. Their last win over the Rockets came in December 2021, where 13 Cavaliers suited up for the 124-89 victory. Donovan Mitchell (who is questionable tonight) is expected to bear the scoring load for the Cavs, as the recently-acquired guard from trade with Utah is posting up All-Star numbers of 28.3 points, four rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 1.5 steals on 48% field-goal shooting. The Cavaliers also carry a fresh loss in their recent match-up with the Knicks. Cleveland is struggling to find some rhythm when playing on the road, as they only hold a 9-15 away record. On average, the Cavs hold enemy shooters to a 46.6% field goal percentage and 37.2% from the three-point line. They also rank at the bedrock of the Western Conference and Southwest Division. Both teams secured double-digit wins at their homecourt when they played the previous season.

The Cleveland Cavaliers take on the struggling Houston Rockets on Thursday. We have our full game preview and top prop bets.

Against a Houston Rockets team that allows the most three-pointers and allows the ninth-highest 3P% against in the league (36.6%), expect Garland to not only take what threes he can get, but for them to fall as well. Darius Garland has proved himself as a shooter year-over-year during the course of his career. Working against Martin is both the high o/u placed against him (o/u 18.5) and a difficult matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers. He’s hit the 20-point mark twice already since the start of the new year and is averaging 12.8 points per game this month. [CAESARS SPORTSBOOK OHIO](https://www.amny.com/recommends/caesars-ohio-pre-reg/) Houston proved just how serious their struggles are after allowing a wavering Washington Wizards team to come back after being down by 19 points at the half. Specifically, their active tank job. While there are still plenty of games to be played, they cannot afford to lose against lower competition, which is exactly what Houston is. Darius Garland and the Cleveland Cavaliers will look to get back in the win column after losing four of their last six games. [CAESARS OHIO](https://www.amny.com/recommends/caesars-oh-real/) New users and first wager only. OH only.

HOUSTON — Darius Garland scored 26 points and Evan Mobley added 21 as the Cleveland Cavaliers routed the short-handed Houston Rockets 113-95 Thursday night ...

Spin.ph Rockets: Gordon missed the game with right knee soreness. The Rockets, who have the NBA's worst record at 11-38, committed 22 turnovers and made just five of 21 3-pointers. The Rockets were without Eric Gordon, Jae'Sean Tate and Kevin Porter Jr. Eason had 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead Houston. Mitchell, who ranks ninth in the NBA by averaging 28.3 points a game, was named a starter for the Eastern Conference in next month's NBA All-Star Game.