Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets host James Harden and the Houston Rockets this Friday, and tipoff from the Barclays Center is set for 7:00 p.m. ET. The Rockets enter action with a 3-1 record, while Brooklyn sits at just 1-3. Somehow, both teams are 0-4 against-the-spread to start the year. After averaging an impressive 36.1 points per game last year, Harden enters Friday's game actually averaging more to start this season. He leads the league with a 36.8 point per game average after dropping 59 on the Wizards on Wednesday, but Irving is right behind him with a 35.3 point average. Those two aren't the only ones putting up gaudy stats though, as Russell Westbrook is in the midst of yet another season of averaging a triple-double. Houston is listed as a 4.5-point road favorite for this game, while the over-under for total points is 243 in the latest Rockets vs Nets odds. Before you make any Rockets vs. Nets picks or NBA predictions, you'll want to see what SportsLine's advanced computer model has to say.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times, and anyone who followed it last season saw massive returns. The model finished 300-252 on all its top-rated picks. On top-rated against-the-spread and money line NBA picks alone, the model returned a whopping $4,280.
Now it has locked in on Rockets vs. Nets. We can tell you it's leaning over, and it also says one side of the spread hits in well over 50 percent of simulations. You can only see that selection at SportsLine.
The model is well aware of how ill equipped the Nets are to deal with Harden and Westbrook defensively. The Nets rank just 22nd in defensive efficiency, and they've allowed the fourth-most points per game to opponents. Their few capable defenders are at the wing and center spots, rather than guard.
Harden put up 58 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists against Brooklyn in one meeting last year, and Westbrook averaged 26 points, 14 rebounds, and 14 assists against them. Now the Nets have to try to deal with both star guards. Brooklyn's backcourt has been overwhelmed by the likes of Malcolm Brogdon and Ja Morant; they are going to have no answers for Harden and Westbrook.
Just because Brooklyn doesn't match up well on paper, doesn't guarantee that Houston will cover the Rockets vs. Nets spread.
The model is also well aware that the Rockets struggled when traveling last year. They had a sparkling 31-10 record at home, which fell to just 22-19 on the road. Houston's 44.4 percent cover rate against-the-spread when playing on the road was the ninth-worst in the league, and it fell to 37 percent when playing as a road favorite.
The Rockets have been the absolute worst defense in the NBA to start this season, too. They rank dead last in defensive efficiency and points per game allowed. They just gave up 158 points to a previously stagnant Washington Wizards offense, so Irving and the young Nets should post some huge numbers in this matchup.
So who wins Nets vs. Rockets? And which side of the spread hits well over 50 percent of the time? Visit SportsLine now to find out which side of the Nets vs. Rockets spread you need to jump on, all from the model that has crushed its NBA picks, and find out.
