The Houston Rockets (18-16) travel to face off against the Miami Heat (20-15) on Monday, January 8th. This game will be played at Kaseya Center. The Rockets are coming off a win in their previous game, while the Heat are looking to get back on track from a loss to the Bucks. Tip-off is set for 7:30 ET.

Rockets vs Heat

The Rockets Are Coming Off A Win

In their latest game against the Bucks, Alperen Sengün was the top scorer for the Rockets’ offense, scoring 21 points and shooting 7/21 from the field. Jeff Green also added 16 points as the Rockets won the game by a score of 112-108.

When playing on the road, the Rockets have gone 3-10 this season and are 15-6 at home. Overall, the Rockets are 18-16 and have gone 3-2 in their last five games.

Houston is currently performing above .500 against the spread with an ATS record of 21-12. On the road, the Rockets have an ATS record of 6-6, as opposed to a 15-6 record against the spread when playing at home.

The Heat Look To Bounce Back From A Loss

Miami’s most recently played the Suns and lost with a final score of 113-97. Despite trailing at halftime by a score of 62-55, the Heat picked up the win.

Coming into today’s game vs. the Rockets, the Heat are 20-15 overall and have gone 1-2 in their last three games. They are currently 8th in the Eastern Conference and 2nd in the Southeast division.

Miami’s ATS record sits below .500 (16-18). Miami has covered the spread in two consecutive home games, while maintaining an ATS record of 5-10 at home as opposed to 11-8 on the road.

Rockets Offense Breakdown

In 34 games games, Houston has an average of 112.5 points per game (23rd). When looking at the team’s pace of play, the Rockets are currently below the league average in possessions per game, averaging just 98.1 per contest. Their slower style of play has created fewer offensive opportunities, leading to them being ranked 26th in fields goals made per contest.

Heat Offense Breakdown

The Heat come into today’s game as the 24th ranked scoring offense at 112.5 points per game. So far, the Heat are averaging 96.8 possessions per game, which places them below the NBA average. Their slower style of play has created fewer offensive opportunities, leading to them being ranked 28th in fields goals made per contest.

Rockets Team Defense

In the current season, the Rockets defense has excelled, sitting 2nd in the NBA by allowing 109.9 points per game. The Houston defense has allowed opponents to shoot 32.6% from beyond the arc this season. Opposing teams are also hitting 45.2% of their field goal attempts vs. Houston.

Heat Team Defense

This season, the Heat defense has been impressive, holding the 9th position in the league while permitting an average of 111.6 points per contest. When it comes to forced turnovers, the Heat are forcing 12.5 per game, which is 8th in the league. They also come into the game sitting 30th in blocked shots at 3.2 per game.

Key Players For The Rockets And Heat

In today’s game, we anticipate Jalen Green leading the scoring for the Rockets, contributing 19 points while shooting 6/15 from the field. For the season, he has been averaging 17.4 points per game, in addition to 4.6 rebounds.

As for Miami, Tyler Herro is projected to be the primary scorer for the Heat. Our forecast has him finishing the game with 20, and adding 5 rebounds. Throughout the season, he has maintained a 43.8% field goal shooting rate and is averaging 22.4 points per game.

Rockets vs Heat Trends

• When looking at their past ten road matchups, Houston has an ATS record of 5-4-1 while averaging 112 per game. The team went 3-7 overall in these games.
• In their last three games at home, the Heat have a straight up record of 1-2 while going 1-2 vs the spread. The team’s offense averaged 103 points per game in these contests.
• Going back to their previous ten games as the underdog, Houston has an ATS mark of 4-6 while going 4-6 straight up.
• Through their previous five contests as the betting favorite, the Heat have a strong record of 3-2. Their record vs the spread in these matchups is 2-3.

Rockets vs Heat Prediction

Coming in as the underdogs at +4.5, we have the Rockets as the way to go on the point spread. Not only do we have them covering, but our projections show they have a good one of winning this one straight-up, if you’re looking for a higher payout on the moneyline.

Right now, the over/under line for the game is sitting at 219.5 and given that our model is projecting 229 points between the teams, we like the over.

All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!

* All odds are provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.Action247 does not warrant the accuracy of completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these post.