There are 11 games on the NBA betting board tonight, including an interstate showdown between the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets. These are two of the worst teams in the league but it should still be an entertaining tilt since they both play at a fast pace and scored plenty of points when they met up previously.
Oddsmakers are expecting another shootout, with this game opening at a whopping total of 235 before ticking down to 235.5, while the Spurs are 5-point road faves. Here are our best free Spurs vs. Rockets NBA picks and predictions for Tuesday, January 25.
Spurs vs Rockets odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.
The line for this game opened with the Spurs at -4 and the Over/Under at 235. Early money came in on the Spurs and the Under, shifting the line to San Antonio -5 and the total to 233.5.
These rivals clashed against each other just 13 days ago with the Rockets winning 128-124 as 7.5-point road underdogs.
Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right until tip-off and be sure to check out the full NBA odds before betting to ensure you get the best number.
Spurs vs Rockets predictions
Predictions made on 01/25/2022 at 1:50 p.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.
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Spurs vs Rockets game info
• Location: Toyota Center, Houston, TX
• Date: Tuesday, January 25, 2022
• Tip-off: 8:00 p.m. ET
• TV: ATTSN-SW, BSSW-SA
Spurs vs Rockets betting preview
Injuries
Spurs: None.
Rockets: John Wall PG (Out).
Find our latest NBA injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Spurs are 0-7 ATS in their last seven road games versus a team with a losing home record. Find more NBA betting trends for Spurs vs. Rockets.
Spurs vs Rockets picks and predictions
Our predictions are compiled from the analysis of the spread and total and are indications of where we are leaning for this game.
Our best bet is the play that we like the most for this game, which we would actually put some of our bankroll behind.
Spread analysis
Lots of people seem to suffer from the post-Christmas blues, after the turkey hangover and excitement of December 25 wears off. The Spurs appear to be among those affected, with San Antonio hammering the Pistons 144-109 on Dec. 26 and falling off a cliff immediately after. The Spurs have gone just 3-12 SU and 5-10 ATS since then, with a net rating of -6.3.
Houston has been much more competitive lately. The Rockets are coming off a close loss to the Warriors on Friday and are 3-2 SU and 4-1 ATS over their last five games, including a 128-124 win in San Antonio less than two weeks ago.
The Spurs have been a below-average defensive team but their lack of scoring punch has been their biggest flaw. Over that 15-game stretch, San Antonio is averaging 107.5 points per game on just 43.7 percent shooting. Meanwhile, the Rockets have put up an impressive 113.1 ppg on 45.7 percent shooting over their last 13 games.
Christian Wood leads Houston with 17.5 ppg on 48.1 percent shooting and should be able to light up a Spurs side that is among the worst in the league at defending opposing centers, surrendering 24 ppg on 54.5 percent shooting to the position.
Sure, the Rockets are still the worst defensive team in the league, but is that enough to justify backing the offensively inept Spurs as 5-point faves on the road? Nope. Especially when you consider that they aren't that much better defensively. In a battle of bad Texas teams, take the home side with the points.
Prediction: Rockets +5 (-110)
Over/Under analysis
The Rockets have gone 19-8 O/U in their last 27 games but that trend is inflated by lower totals earlier in the season as books adjusted to Houston's speedy tempo and poor defensive play. Until Christmas, the Rockets hadn't seen a single O/U higher than 228 but since then, have seen totals of at least 230 in eight games, including five straight. The Under has gone 5-3 in those eight contests.
As bad as these teams are defensively (especially the Rockets), they combine to allow 227.4 ppg while scoring just 218.7 ppg of their own. Seeing the total for tonight open so much higher than the larger of those numbers should be cause for concern, especially when you consider that the favored Spurs have been held below 110 points in 11 of their last 13 games that didn't go into overtime.
Oddsmakers might be setting this number a tad too high due to that recent 252-point shootout between these teams. However, with the Spurs going 1-4 O/U in their last five games overall and the Rockets cashing the Under in three straight, the Under seems like the smarter play tonight.
Prediction: Under 233.5 (-110)
Best bet
The Spurs team total tonight is set at 119.5, a number they have eclipsed just once in their last 15 games. Granted, that one game came against the Rockets just 13 days ago.
However, the Spurs drained 17 three-pointers and took 27 shots from the charity stripe in that contest, numbers which are stark outliers from their larger body of work.
On the season, the Spurs rank second-last in the league in both 3-pointers made per game (10.9) and FTA per game (18.7) so expect regression in those areas. Take the Under on their team total.
Pick: Spurs Team Total Under 119.5 (-115)
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